


Shadows of the Past

by Coastalfirebird



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Atlantis, Dapharry- Freeform, Dark Ron Weasley, Demigods, Evil Ron Weasley, F/F, F/M, Greek gods, Pansmione- Freeform, Rebirth Daphne Greengrass, Rebirth Harry Potter, Rebirth Hermione, Rebirth Pansy, Rebirth Ron Weasley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-02-10 10:01:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 93,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18658177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coastalfirebird/pseuds/Coastalfirebird
Summary: As she approaches her fourteenth birthday Hermione plans to tell her friends about her romantic leaning, but before that can happen a secret is revealed to her. This secret and dreams she cannot explain make those around her question themselves. In addition to all of this a past she has only caught glimpses of in dreams starts to manifest itself in her life, and by doing so changes more than just her life.





	1. From Dawn to Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the affiliated characters and stories are the property of J.K. Rowling. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came from the excellent mind of their owner.  
> Author’s Notes: AU warning: I am changing the romantic pairing for Hermione and moving the time frame up a decade. Meaning first year happened in 2001. If you do not like this then please don’t read. Please Read and Review thank you.

_Hecate sat on the darkened beach thinking back on the few months of tragedy and all she could do was shake her head. War had torn her people into two camps: those who wanted peace, and those who desired conquest. This did not sit well with the young mage. Her namesake and patron the goddess of magic had foretold these things would happen, and yet no one would listen to her. They just asked her to pick sides, so she chose peace._

_Her best friend and lover Leto had agreed this was the best choice for the nation. The brunette laughed at this. Not only were people listening to them for once they actually seemed to care what the couple had to say for once. They usually listened to Magnus (Leto’s brother and one of her oldest friends), but he was pushing for their people to go to war something they had not done in generations._

_A flash of green from her wrist meant Leto was trying to be sneaky. Deciding to indulge her girlfriend Hecate leant back and closed her eyes. Instead of feeling the usual embrace from the raven-haired woman her head hit the sand. Looking down to her wrist she found the amulet around her wrist was gone._

“ _My dear you are quite the thief. You know that will get you into trouble one of these days.”_

“ _So I’m told, but I have yet to BE caught.” The best spy in the nation kissed her gently on the lips._

“ _You know my sweet just like the goddess of thieves and secrets, whose name you bare, you a quite elusive.”_

“ _Well, Hecate you have cast a spell on me, my dear.” The raven-haired woman placed her forehead against the other woman’s. They held each other close even as Hecate felt a callus gaze falling down on them. As she whispered affirmations of her love to Leto the brunette heard the snapping of a branch off to her left. “It is probably my brother.”_

“ _Is it that obvious sister?” The dark haired man did not even try to hide the rage in his voice. He held a bronze dagger in his left hand._

“ _Why are you so angry Magnus?” Hecate turned to look the man in the eye. What she saw made a breath catch in her throat “Magnus you have been using dark magic!” She stepped in between her love and the Magnus. The green energy surrounding him gave both women cause to fear for their lives._

“ _And that surprises you Hecate? Given your namesake is my mother that should come as no surprise to you.” He gave a motion with his hand and sent a wave of energy in their direction. As it towards the two women he laughed. Hecate and his sister shielded themselves from the ill effects of one of the darkest spells ever made. “Very clever girls, but that will not help you.” His laugh sounded like bronze on a grinding wheel._

“ _What do you mean bro…Ahhh?!” Leto’s words ended as searing pain tore through her body._

“ _Leto,” Hecate went to defend her love from a woman holding an unknown spell on her, but her legs would not budge. “What are you doing to her?!”_

“ _Inflecting upon her the same amount of pain that you have caused to my love,” the woman’s sadistic tone made the dark-eyed woman fume with rage. As she went to cast a spell Hecate felt searing pain rip through her left side. “Are you going to finish her off Magnus, my love?”_

“ _No Maya. I want to see her face as she watches my sister die.” Her former friend walked over to his sister grabbed her by the hair and tilted her head back. “I love you sister dear.” He said this as the bronze dagger cut into Leto’s throat._

“NO PANSY!” Hermione sat up in bed screaming at the top of her lungs the last name anyone would ever expect her to care about. As she ran a shaky hand through the tangled mess that was her hair the bedroom door swung wide open.

“Are you alright darling?” Her father asked as he came through the door.

“I am fine, dad. It was just another nightmare.” The brunette ran another shaky hand through her hair.

“Who is Pansy?” her father asked with a smile growing across his face. Hermione rolled her eyes a little as she thought of the name she yelled out not more than a minute ago.

“Someone I know from school father.” The younger Granger tried to keep the smile from crossing her face, but she was failing horribly. “And she is an insufferable nuisance!” She tried to say this as sternly as possible.

“Who are you trying to convince Hermione, me or yourself?” Her father and mother had known that she was gay for weeks now and for all the fear she felt about telling them she felt the same amount of joy when they told her it did not matter so long as she was happy and safe.

“I just don’t know how she will react to it, and she is in Slytherin house which means that she has a ‘reputation’ to uphold.” The brunette made the air quotation remarks around reputation because she had seen how the raven-haired girl would look at her when her housemates were not around.

“Do you know how long it took me to ask your mother out on our first date?” Hermione shook her head. “Six months, and let me tell you I was more nervous than a cat with the canary in its mouth.” He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Feel better Hermione?”

“Yes, goodnight dad.”

“Good night Hermione.” With that, her father walked out and shut the door.

The rest of the night Hermione’s sleep was uneventful, and she liked it that way. When she had dreams like that she wrote it off as her magic acting upon her. As the morning light streamed in through her window she took a few minutes to lay there and ponder what she would do today. She still had a few books she could read, and there was her History of Magic assignment that she could ‘double cheek’ again. Deciding against both of those she got up and got ready for the day.

As she made her way downstairs she heard her parents talking to someone she did not recognise. The woman had dark black hair and silvery eyes. The woman seemed to have magic pouring off of her. At least that’s what she guessed it was, because what else could make the air around her spark with energy? Upon seeing her, the woman stood up and walked in her direction stopping just before she reached entryway into the room. Once her father noticed her he looked extremely pale like something really bad had just happened.

“Hermione comes to sit down there is something I need to tell you.” Her father’s voice was shaky and full of worry.

“Sure father, what is wrong?” As she walked past the woman the brunette felt this level of magical power that made the headmaster seem like a mere boy. Hermione took a seat across from her father. She kept glancing over at the woman standing between the sofa and the wall.

“Hermione this is not going to be easy for you to hear. All I ask is that you listen to what I have to say before you make your judgment.” He waited for her to nod in agreement. “Hermione there is something we have been keeping from you, your whole life. You are the child of… a goddess.”

“WHAT?!” Hermione could not contain her confusion at this point. She looked at the silent woman and her father. “So then who is my mother?”

“She is,” her father pointed to the woman behind him. “…and before you say anything I am certain of this. Before I asked your mum to marry me I had a moment of ‘weakness’ and slept with your mother. Nine months later she showed up with you in her arms, and informed us who she was and that it was forbidden for her to raise you.”

Her mum interjected at this point. “And we took you in. Raising you as if you were ours, and I have always viewed as my daughter.”

“What are you talking about mum?!”

“What we are saying Hermione is that you are a demigod, and your mother is the goddess…” Before her father could finish she got up and started towards her room. “Hermione wait!”

She didn’t wait. Hermione practically ran to her room and shut the door behind her. Pacing around the room for what felt like an eternity she finally collapsed onto the bed. The brunette let her mind wander over more reasonable things. She focused on her assignment for Professor Binns, or she could wait for another letter from Harry. Just thinking about him caused changes in what she was thinking about. She wondered how he would take the news that she was homosexual and that she had a crush on the most unlikely person at school. It also brought up the thought of why he was able to send more letters to her. It seemed that his aunt and uncle had either changed or were scared to death of something. Option two seemed more likely.

A rapping on her window caused her to jump a little. It was Hedgewig with another letter from Harry. Opening the window to let the owl in she let out a long sigh. She started to read the letter that Harry sent her, and as she read it a smile started to creep across her face. He seemed to have been away from the Dursley’s the past week, and he had been wondering how her summer was going now that she had returned from France. She pulled out her quill and ink and a piece of parchment. She thought long and hard before she began to write.

Harry,

France was great! I spent a lot of time covering my homework for Binns class but seemed to hit a bit of a snag on some of the ancient witches and wizards of European folklore. I mean I honestly don’t know how they can ignore the muggle accounts of the individuals. Binns seems stuck in the past! Yes, Harry, I realise he is a ghost, but come on a witch like Circe does not enter muggle literature on accident! They are far more fascinating than a goblin rebellion in 1612! There are also other things weighing on my mind. I would love to talk about it, but right now I don’t even know if it’s real. I may tell you when I see you on the train.

P.S. I know this is short, but again I have a lot on my mind.

Yours truly,

Hermione

Giving the letter to Hedwig Hermione watched the owl fly out the window with her letter. As she closed the window the brunette could see a reflection of her eyes, and she did a double take. Her eyes appeared to be silver. Running over to the mirror in her room Hermione double checked this oddity, and sure enough, her eyes were now the colour of the moon. Closing her eyes tightly the teen almost begged them to be normal when she opened them again, but to her displeasure, there were silver lines stretching from the pupil had to the outer edge iris. Sighing heavily she walked over to her bed and fell onto it closing her eyes allowing sleep to take her elsewhere.

 

It had been nearly a week since Hermione’s dad delivered earth-shattering news, and Harry was keeping in daily contact with her. He wanted to know more, but she felt reluctant to let him know too much. After sending off her most recent reply she decided to put an end to these nagging questions. Hermione took a deep breath prepare for the news she didn’t want to hear.

Once on the main floor, Hermione saw her father on the sofa watching the telly.

Hermione kept her voice low “Dad can we talk?”

“Sure darling. What is this about?”

“What you and mum were going to tell me last week. I am sorry I stormed out on you like that. It’s just…”

Her father cut her off, “Don’t worry about it, Hermione. It is a hard thing to bring up, but we really have no choice in the matter.”

“What do you mean?” The younger Granger tried to keep the stress out of her voice, but it was starting to become difficult.

“Hermione I wasn’t joking. Your birth mother is a goddess, and more to the point the goddess of magic itself.” She wanted to interrupt, but by the look on his face, there was more to her gift than that. “That isn’t to say that your ability to use magic comes from her being your mother. You would have been able to use magic regardless, so she says.”

“So that’s it, I am not going to turn out like Hercules am I?” Hermione could not help but have this worried look on her face.

“No you are not, or at least I hope not. I don’t know what abilities you may have, but I do know this: that you are a special person and no matter what your mum and I will always love you.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Her mum cried from the kitchen.

“Come on let’s not keep your mum waiting.” Her father stood and made his way towards the dining table. “Oh and don’t forget we are going to Diagon Ally tomorrow to meet your friend Ronald.”

Rolling her eyes at the thought Hermione made her way to the table. “I would much rather get my teeth pulled without anesthetic.”

“I can help you with that.”

“No thank you.”

_Dinner went by better than it had since Hermione found out the truth about her lineage, but the same could not be said about her dreams; while not as terrifying as the ones that preceded them the dreams did not leave her well rested._

_Hecate ran down the stone street to the last house on the left. Even in the dead of night, this blue building was easily picked out compared to the faux silver of the buildings around it. Looking around to ensure she had not been followed she made the hand gestures that she had learned over the years to cause the earth to rise to the roof of the structure. As the ground moved slightly Hecate hoped it wouldn’t wake anyone. The only thing that moved was a clay vase of the building next door. Say what you want about the colours of some of these buildings Atlantian builders built them to last._

_Once on the roof, she looked around for the green-eyed woman who had sent her the missive. The brown-eyed woman almost screamed when the hand was placed on her shoulder. “Don’t say, anything sweetheart. Let’s move. I think I have overstayed my welcome.” Leto’s sombre voice at times like this scared the other woman._

_As the two retreated down the earthen stairs Leto silently destroyed the stairs since they were no longer needed. Once on the ground the green-eyed woman to Hecate’s hand and made a fast track towards the palace. Once they reached their destination Hecate could hold out no longer._

“ _Why did you not ask me to come with you to start with Leto?”_

“ _Because I knew you would try and speed things along, and drop my pretence all too soon.” The raven-haired spy was saluting the guards outside the queen’s chamber. “Besides I like to keep my mystique as long as possible.”_

_The coyness of her statement was a bit annoying, but that is part of why she loved the royal shadow master. “Seriously my love I think a little heads up would have been better than a midnight calling.”_

_All conversation stopped as the other woman hand a scroll to the queen. After some conversation about its contents, the duo bid their farewells to the queen. It did not take Leto long when they left the palace to respond to Hecate’s last comment to her._

“ _Honestly Hecate I thought you liked my midnight callings?”_

“ _Those calls are different.” The brunette started to blush a deep shade of red. Once Leto entered her residence Hecate closed the shutter to the outside world. “I am wondering if that is not the real reason you sent for me my dear.”_

“ _Well I could have made it to the palace on my own, but how would that be fun?” Leto said this as she ran a hand up the other woman’s stomach and under her garment to feel what lay beneath the fabric._

_As Hecate turned around her outer garment fell to the floor, and then her mouth met Leto’s in a passionate kiss._

A knocking sound on her bedroom door woke Hermione from the throes of a very emotional dream. “Wake up Hermione we have to be there by nine-thirty.” Her mother’s voice took her mind off of the dream, briefly.

She gathered up her clothes and set aside the ones she wanted to wear for the day. She packed the rest in her trunk. She took a cold shower and made ready for the day. After a quick meal, they left on the hour and thirty-minute car ride to London. Upon arrival to the Leaky Cauldron, a young woman with jet black hair and silver eyes walked up to them saying that someone wished to speak with them.

As they made their way up the stairs the youngest Granger could hear two female voices in a heated discussion about someone’s husband. As she entered the room the conversation the two women were having stopped, and both women turned to look at Hermione as she walked into the room. The woman from last week was one of the women in the room. Hermione took notice of her appearance this time. She had long night black hair to the middle of her back, moon silver eyes, and pale skin. The other woman had long lustrous chestnut hair and these deep green eyes. Her skin was a nice tan colour that contrasted nicely with the gossamer silk green dress.

All three women were having a whispered conversation, and then the woman who led them here bowed to the other two and left the room. Hermione turned and looked at her parents, and saw that they were both sitting in chairs by the door. She could only see two more chairs just to the left side of the door, and before she could sit in one of them, three other people walked into the room. The two adults she did not know, but the girl she could not forget, Pansy Parkinson.

While the other girl started a ‘conversation’ with her usual string of insults about Hermione’s ‘popularity’, and thus the usual trade of words between the two began. Even though she was busy trying to show the Slytherin she had a backbone Hermione could not shake this feeling that this was not right and that the two unknown women in the room were beyond displeased with this show of personalities. As Pansy face began to show the joy of arguing with Hermione a cough from the back of the room took the raven-haired girl’s attention off of the brunette. Turning back to the forgotten women in the room Hermione saw the raven-haired woman with both arms crossed in disgust. The other woman had her head hung low and was shaking it in disappointment.

“Are you two quite done?” The raven woman’s silky voice seemed more annoyed than angry.

“And who are you to be telling ME what to do?” Pansy was fuming at the woman’s words, almost as if she was unaware of why she was here.

“She is you godmother my dear.” The brown-haired woman sounded so cheerful it was scary. “I do not believe we have met.” The woman extended a hand to Hermione. “Hi there Ms Granger, I’m Persephone.”

Hermione stood there in shock as she shook the goddess’ hand. She knew enough about Greek mythos to know this goddess was Hades wife, and that was about it. “I remember you from earlier in the week. I am sorry about the way I acted.”

“It is fine… I would have expected no less from you Hermione.” The woman waved her hand causing a table with food and drink to appear in front of them. “Take a seat.”

Both girls looked at one another before they took the seats provided for them. The table contained bowls of apples, grapes, olives, and plums. The liquid in the cups was glowing slightly, and this caused Hermione’s mum to sit forward in her chair. The look of worry gracing her face caused Hermione to pause just so before she took the glass in her hand. As she brought the drink to her lips Hermione felt well rested, and like she could sit through a five-hour class with Professor Snape. The flavour reminded her of a muggle soft drink she had over the summer.

“What is this?” the raven-haired girl’s words shocked her. They carried a softness she had never heard.

“Nectar of the gods, and before we continue I think we need a formal introduction.” Hermione’s mother extended her hand to Pansy. “Hello, Ms Parkinson I am Hecate.”

The stunned look on Pansy’s face was priceless.

As she shook the goddess’ hand the Slytherin Queen couldn’t help but ask “Is she like me?”

“Yes, and before we get too carried away remember you both have other people you have to meet today.” The goddess of magic and phases of the moon reached under the table retrieving a book, which she placed in front of Hermione. “Now these books contain information on your abilities that will become active on your fourteenth birthday.”

“What?” Hermione’s mind was abuzz with a thousand questions, but with the raising of a delicate finger, Persephone silenced her questioning mind.

“It’s like this: the divine half of your blood very rarely shows itself.” The goddess of innocence created a hummingbird on the end of her finger. “Unlike your magic gene, it will start showing itself now instead of when you were little kids.”

To Hermione this made some sense as the only demigod she knew of to show what they were before their teenage years was Hercules. She took the book laid out before her and began to read it. Its contents seemed odd to her, its tone was a mixture of darkness and light. Information on how magic would bend to her will. This information seemed odd to her, after all, what she was learning at Hogwarts was the same thing. Wasn’t it?

Before she could ask the question her mother spoke again. “We must go, and girls try to get along. You are not that different.”

This statement caused Hermione to lift an eyebrow, but before she could ask anything both goddesses faded away. Hecate faded into silver light and Persephone into green light. With that, both girls looked at one another. Hermione could not help but get lost in those deep soulful green eyes the Slytherin had, and only snapped out of it when the other girl placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I will see you on the Express Hermione, and I think we need to talk about these.” Pansy motioned to the book in her hand. All the Gryffindor could do was a nod in agreement. “I will see you later then.”

The brunette sat there in silence until she felt another hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right Hermione?” Her mum’s voice brought her back to reality.

“She touched me…” That was the only thing that she could say as her parents led her out of the room.

As they entered the common room of the pub Hermione’s eyes fell on a group of redheads coming towards the bar. She started to wave her arm in the air to get Mrs Weasley’s attention, but only managed to get the attention of the twins. “How are you doing Hermione? Fine I hope,” George said pushing past Ginny and running up to Hermione and vigorously shaking her hand.

“…you didn’t get lost in France; Percy got lost in a pyramid!” Fred continued causing Hermione to giggle at how the two usually seemed continued each other’s sentences.

“I didn’t get lost you tried to lock me inside it!” Percy growled at the twins as the rest of the Weasley clan came up to Hermione. “Hello, Hermione how have you been?”

“Fine Percy and how was Egypt? And congratulation on making a head boy.” Hermione tried to keep from laughing as she watched Mrs Weasley reprimand Fred and George.

“It was great and thanks. I think you would make an excellent head girl one day Hermione.”

“Hermione, have you got all your books?” Mrs Weasley asked as she walked up to the third year Gryffindor, and embracing her in a light hug.

“Not yet I was thinking of getting my books with Ron and Harry.” She looked over at her fellow third year. “Where’s Harry Ron?”

“We just got her Hermione. I thought he would be with you.” The younger Weasley boy was pointing a finger at her.

“No Ronald he is not. He is probably out buying his books or at Gringott’s.”

After getting their money the group split into three groups, and Hermione was given an extra ten galleons as an early birthday present. As they purchased their books Ron could not believe how many books she was buying. He kept asking her if she was out of her mind, but she just kept telling him she was taking a lot more classes than other students, and he kept asking about the book her mother had given her and Pansy.

“Look, Ronald, I don’t need to tell you what is in this book, and besides you wouldn’t understand it anyway.” Running a hand over the book the brunette looked the redhead in the eye. ‘What should I tell him?’ she questioned herself.

‘The truth or you could lie to him, either way, it won’t matter.’ The voice came from within her head and it was not her own.

Looking around her Hermione could not see anything or anyone particularly paying her any attention. “Looking for Harry again Hermione? Maybe I should tell Ginny that would get her blood boiling.” Ron broke out into a loud chorus of laughter.

“Honestly Ron I am not interested in Harry, I-like-girls-not-boys,” Hermione said the last sentence so fast that even she was confused. Not about what she said, buy why she even bothered saying it.

“What was that last part?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” The brightest witch of her age decided to wait on that piece of information until the more famous member of the trio joined them. Not to mention it needs to be a little more private location. Hermione noticed Ron drooling and decided to follow his gaze for once just out of curiosity. “Honestly Ron do you think with your sweet tooth?”

“Yes, come on Mione lets go get some ice-cream.” The redhead said this as he took off in a dead run for Florean Fortescue’s.

Ron ordered a dragon fire ice cream, and airing on the side of caution Hermione ordered a vanilla and strawberry ice cream combo.

“Seriously Mione what is so important in that book that you can’t set it down for two minutes?” the redhead had a look of concerned on his face.

“I have told you Ronald do not call me that, and to be honest yes I can I just don’t want to. Now keep an eye out for Harry.” The ice in her voice was not only detectable but formed around her fellow Gryffindor’s spoon.

“Dang Hermione get control of yourself.” He said this as he removed the ice with his new wand. Hermione just shook her head as he gently put the instrument back in its case.

“Harry! HARRY!” Ron’s voice scared her a little bit. Looking up she saw Harry, and she stood up waving her arm to get his attention.

As the boy-who-lived walked over to their table the brunette put her ‘demi-book’, as she had decided to call it, in her bag. As they caught up with what they had been doing over the summer Hermione noticed Harry couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. The redhead in the group made a snarled expression about it but said nothing. Then the conversation turned to Harry’s aunt. The raven-haired boy was glad he didn’t get arrested, and Ron, as usual, made it seem that Harry avoided punishment because he was famous. This did not sit well with Hermione, but before she could say anything Ron moved on to other things.

On their way to the Magical Menagerie, Harry decided to comment on her looks. “So Hermione when did you get the tan?”

“Oh, I did not set out to get one it just kind of happened because I spent a lot of time outside this summer.” Her words were casual as they could be, but the freckle-faced boy thought otherwise.

“Trying to impress the famous Harry Potter a little were you Hermione?” His laugh was the kind of laugh that one would cast a silence spell to stop.

“Honestly Ron have you ever known Hermione to try and impress me with looks? Besides I don’t think she is interested in me.” The witch was thanking all the gods she could think of for Harry’s sanity in this situation.

“Oh no Harry, you didn’t see her looking frantically for you earlier today.” This sheepish grin came across the sixth Weasley child’s face.

“I am not even going to dignify this conversation with any further remarks Ronald.” Hermione just stormed off a little ahead of the two boys leaving Harry to correct Ron’s error in judgment.

After spending some time looking at animals in the store Hermione found this ginger coloured cat. The way it looked at her caused the young teen to smile. After some inquiry into the creature, she found it was the longest inhabitant of the store, and decided to purchase the ‘little’ guy. She decided to name him Crookshanks. Once he was out of the cage he made a mad dash for the counter, and Hermione had to stifle a laugh when her new familiar bounced off Ron’s head. The tabby chased Scabbers out of the store causing the brunette to follow the pair out of the store. Once she found Crookshanks she returned to the store. After talking with the lady behind the counter, she retrieved her friend’s rat serum and paying for Crookshanks she left. Hermione saw her two best friends and clung tightly to the ginger-coloured cat as she felt him try and leap out of her arms again. Hermione just couldn’t help but smile because she now had a companion that would not question her judgments.

“You bought that monster?!” Ron said with his mouth hanging wide open. As the muggle credit card commercial said: priceless.

“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” she said this with as much adoration she could muster. Which was considerable, compared to Ron’s shocked expression. After a few more words were traded about the cat and rat they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. They had a small conversation with Mr Weasley before Ginny came downstairs. Hermione giggled a little bit at how red the youngest Weasley’s face had become when she saw Harry. It was no mystery to her that Ginny was in love with Harry, and not because he was famous, but out of true love and adoration. All though Hermione though someone would have to threaten Harry’s life for the girl to admit it.

As she ate dinner Hermione’s mind drifted to the encounter with two goddesses, and of them was her birth mother to boot. As she thought of this her mind drifted irrevocably to the other girl that was with her during the meeting. As the Gryffindor thought of Pansy her cheeks became flush, and she started looking down at her plate of the stake.

“Thinking of someone you met in France Hermione?” George said with the same tongue in cheek commentary the twins were known for.

“No, just an embarrassing moment earlier in the day is all.” ‘Bluff, buy it please.’ Apparently, the other twin could read minds.

“Oh come on Hermione you don’t expect us to buy that stick?” Fred commented with the biggest smile he could muster.

She was saved by Mrs Weasley. “Boys stop this nonsense immediately if Hermione wishes to tell us she will. Now stop it.” It amazed Hermione how Mrs Weasley could carry that motherly tone with her as much as she did, and the weight in her words let you know she meant business.

“Yes mum!” the boys said as one. Hermione just shook her head as the twins saluted their mother.

The rest of dinner went without incident if you disregarded Ron’s commentary on how it would be cool to catch Serious Black and be as famous as Harry for it. Was she the only one that could tell Harry didn’t like being famous? She now knew what that must have been like for him the past two years. She did not want to be a demigod, but she had no choice in the matter. As the group retired to their rooms Hermione took out the book Hecate had given her and started reading it in earnest. The spells within it did not require a wand. She was uncertain whether they were light or dark. Did her mother care about such things, or was that just a human thing? When she looked out the window she saw that night had fallen on the world around her. She could feel the power just beneath the surface of her consciousness, and it scared her a little. Okay maybe a lot, but still she had to deal with it or it would drive her mad.

She jumped a little as she heard the door to her and Ginny’s room close. “Oh sorry, Hermione didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s all right Ginny I was scaring myself really.” Ginny was one of the few people that Hermione knew she could be up front and honest with no matter what, and she would be accepted for it.

“You haven’t told your parents yet have you?” She had told Ginny prior to the start of summer that she was gay, and was happily surprised that the girl didn’t care.

“No I have told them and they were okay with it. They just didn’t want me to get hurt because of it. My dad even said he would have said that if I like boys.” Hermione smiled as she remembered the conversation.

“Well, that’s good. At least they were reasonable about it, but if that is not what is bothering you what is?” Ginny’s inquisitive nature was showing just a little.

“My dreams as of late have been unpleasant.”

“What do you mean Mi?” the older girl started to describe her dreams over the past few days and watched as the scarlet-haired girl’s mouth fell open. “Oh my god, Hermione how can you go to sleep with dreams like that?”

“Easy I close my eyes.” Hermione just smiled at the comment and failed to dodge the pillow thrown in her direction.

The girls continued to talk about what they had done over the summer, and Hermione found out a lot more about Egypt from Ginny than she did from her brothers. If she had, to be honest with herself Hermione would love to have gone there with the Weasley’s, but her mum and dad wanted to go to France which was ‘good enough’ to her.

“Oh come on Hermione France is rich in wizarding history,” Ginny complained.

“Yes, but not as much as Egypt. I mean the country has existed longer than any country in existence at present, including China.” She hated the fact that more oft than not she carried this ‘I know more than you’ tone of voice, but she did know a lot. “Besides I was feeling uneasy during the whole trip like someone was watching me.”

“What do you mean Hermione?”

“Well, it was like there was an executioner following me around with a guillotine.” As she said this a shiver of fear ran up and down her spine.

“So has anyone caught your eye?” Hermione did not argue Ginny’s want to change the topic; she just wished it was something else.

“Well there is someone, but she is most assuredly straight.” The brunette sounded more dejected than she felt. Thinking back to how gently Pansy had placed a hand on her shoulder earlier that day caused her to blush.

Ginny cracked a smile. “Oh REALLY, you know I think Ron has feelings for you?”

“Ginevra Weasley I do not want to have a heart attack at this time in my life!” Hermione could not help but cringe at the thought of Ron having romantic feelings for her. Ginny threw up her hands in defeat.

Both girls decided to call it a night. Hermione’s sleep was once again fitful. It was not the scenes of death that had been plaguing her nights for the past week. This one made her blood boil not run cold.

Hermione stood in an elegant hallway that seemed to stretch on forever and the only thing, aside from the beautiful paintings that adorned the walls, was a single door down the right-hand side. Approaching the door the witch could hear soft crying. As she opened the door the Gryffindor saw a young woman with shoulder length black hair crying into a large pillow clutched tightly to her chest. Walking closer she could see bruises on her forearms and blood stains on the full-length mirror next to the bed. The brunette noticed that she was fully cognizant of the dream. Nor did this dream skip around like most; instead it moved as if she were awake, or as though Hermione was watching a movie.

The sounds of heavy footsteps made the girl’s head snap up, and upon seeing her face the young ‘know-it-all’ rushed to comfort the girl, but only passed right through the bed and its occupant. Hermione turned as she heard the door come crashing open. A tall stocky man pounded into the room with a look of rage such that it might cause death itself to pause in a moment of consideration. Looking over at the person in the bed the daughter of Hecate saw for the first time Pansy Parkinson quiver with fear.

“Well, you little slut will you tell me how to open the book now!?” The man’s voice bounced off the bare walls making his deep voice that much more intimidating, and all Hermione could do was watch as Pansy slid off the bed to get away from the agitated wizard. “What now you think you can defy ME!?” With a wave of his wand, the bed was hurled against the opposing wall.

“No, sir.” This was not the Pansy she knew from Hogwarts, nor was it the slight glimpse of the real Pansy she saw when she left the Leaky Cauldron. This was a scared little girl and not the queen of Slytherin.

Hermione placed herself between the approaching wizard and her fellow demigod. She had no idea if this was a power she got from her mother nor did she really care. All she wanted was to stop this man, but even with arms widespread, he walked right through her.

“Good because I do not like it when my kids disobey me, and I damn sure am not going to take it from a filth-blood like you.” He growled.

“Please, Uncle Jeffery I don’t know why the book won’t open for you, honest.” Parkinson’s voice was shaky and tears were streaming down her face as her back made contact with the wall.

“Quit lying!” Pansy’s uncle raised a hand and brought it crashing down hard across her face.

The voice that spilt from Hermione’s mouth was full of rage. Poor Ginny jumped a good meter out of bed at the sound of the other girl’s voice. A few minutes later Mr and Mrs Weasley came in the room wands drawn. Mr Weasley did a sweep of the room. Hermione assumed he was looking for Sirius Black. Mrs Weasley came over to both girls’ bed and checked on them, and when she found out what happened she looked over at Hermione.

“Are you all right dear, it wasn’t Sirius Black trying to control your mind?” Mrs Weasley’s comment would have seemed out of place to anyone who did not know that her daughter had been controlled by Voldemort the previous year.

“No, ma’am. It was just a horrid dream, and I couldn’t help but feel… anger at what I saw. What is it, Mrs Weasley?” Hermione had her head cocked to the side and gave the older woman a quizzical look.

“Your eyes are silver my dear.” She watched as the matron of the Weasley clan went over to her daughter’s bedside table and got out a mirror. “Take a look, Hermione.”

Hermione took the mirror from Mrs Weasley, and sure enough, her eyes were the colour of the moon. Well, not entirely there were lines of brown leading to her pupil. “Weird. Mrs Weasley, I can’t explain this, but I will do some research to find out how it…”

“Oh don’t worry about it dear I just found it odd.” Mrs Weasley said in a soft tone, and gently rubbed the top of Hermione’s head. “Besides they have returned to normal now.” Looking back in the mirror the brunette saw that her eyes were back to their normal brown saved for the streaks of silver leading to her pupils.

Mr Weasley was through with his search and came over to see if the girls were all right. When both parents’ fears were abated they left them. Mrs Weasley told the girls to go back to bed and rest seeing as it was still the dead of night.

“Were you dreaming about her?” Ginny asked in a mousey voice.

“Yes, and I couldn’t protect her.” Hermione let out a long and mournful sigh. "Goodnight Ginny.”

The following morning Hermione and Ginny were the first to bring their things down after breakfast, and that was mainly because Fred and George were messing with Percy. Poor Ron was catching the blame for it though. The cars that the Ministry had sent over, looked pretty ragged, but the drivers were top notch, polite too. As they arrived at King’s Cross station Hermione looked over at Mr Weasley, he was staying close to Harry and looking around presumably for Serious Black. Though why the escaped murderer would come after them was a mystery to her.

As they lined up to get onto Platform nine and three-quarters Hermione cringed as she had no other choice than to pair up with Ron. Harry and Mr Weasley went first, then Percy and Ginny, and then the twins. “All right you two it’s your turn.” chimed Mrs Weasley.

Hermione wanted to take the approach to the pillar at a slower pace, but she had no choice but to run as Ronald took it full speed. Probably not wanting a repeat of what happened last year where he and Harry missed the train due to Dobby. As they made it to the other side of the barrier Hermione saw Percy chatting with a girl with long curly hair. Hermione presumed this was Penelope.

As they got their things onto the Express Hermione looked around, and caught a glimpse of a woman who looked a lot like Hecate, but before she could get a better look at her the woman boarded the train. Her eyes fell on Pansy next, and she waved an arm to try and get her attention. It seemed to have worked because she looked around to make sure she wasn’t being watched and waved back. Then Draco came up beside the daughter of Persephone thus ending any chance of them talking at this moment in time. Turning back to her belongings she saw a familiar freckled face glaring back at her.

“What the bloody hell was that for?” Ron demanded.

“I just wanted to say hello is all,” Hermione said as she took Crookshanks cage of her trolley. “And besides since when do I need your permission to wave at someone Ronald?” The know-it-all tone of voice was once again laced with ice at how the other Gryffindor thought he could determine who was worthy enough to be her friend.

“She is a bloody Slytherin Hermione! I would stay away from her unless you like being talked down to. She would also stab you in the back the second she got the chance to.” And before she could respond Ron had run off to say goodbye to his mum and dad. Hermione went over to say her farewells also and watched as Mrs Weasley hugged and kissed all her kids then the brunette. She giggled a little as Harry’s face darkened a little as Mrs Weasley gave him the hug and kiss goodbye.

As they boarded the train Hermione noticed the boy-who-lived was not with them. Apparently, Ron had noticed this as well because he was standing at the door, and when he stepped aside the raven-haired boy bounded into the compartment. Ron said something to Ginny that made her walk away in a huff. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing Harry wants to talk to us in private,” Ron said.

“So that means just the two of us Ronald?”

“Don’t worry about it, Hermione.” Hermione didn’t need incredible deduction ability to tell Harry was troubled by something. Ron, however, needed all the help one could get to tell how another was feeling. As they walked through the sections looking for an empty compartment Harry could only find one with a single sleeping occupant. “Come on this will have to do.”

Hermione did a cursory look at the man and his belongings and noted the name ‘Professor R.J. Lupin’ on his overhead luggage. Ron obviously didn’t care to look at it. After a small discussion about their sleeping companion, Harry told them what Mr and Mrs Weasley were arguing about last night, and as he told them the details Hermione had to cover her mouth as it fell wide open. She and Ron went on and on about how their friend’s life would be in danger and all he could do was seem calm about someone wanting to kill him.

“Harry you need to stay out of trouble this year then,” Hermione said this with as much sternness as possible.

“It usually finds me.”

As Ron came to Harry’s defence the young demi-god rolled her eyes. Then the conversation turned to Hogsmeade, and even though Hermione was heartbroken about Harry not being able to go with them, she secretly felt relieved about it. It meant that Harry would be safe inside Hogwarts castle with Professor Dumbledore and the other professors to protect him from the escaped madman.

Hermione started to mess with the straps on Crookshanks basket while she said this.

“Don’t let that bloody beast out Hermione!” Ron said this as he kicked at the basket trying to put his damn rat back in his pocket.

“Ronald STOP IT!” hissed Hermione. Professor Lupin stirred and they all froze. He simply turned his head the other way with his mouth slightly open. “Honestly Ronald you can be so… childish at times.”

“Childish!” Ron sat forward a little but Harry put a hand on his chest.

“Don’t mate it isn’t right,” Harry said this with the calmness that only he could have. Hermione just nodded at him. “Hermione, what is happening to your eyes?” The raven-haired boy’s voice was somewhat shocked in its tone.

Hermione looked at her reflection in the window. Her eye colour was going from brown to silver once again. “Nothing Harry this just happens when I lose my cool and it has only started happening over the past two weeks. There was something I want to talk to you guys about anyway.”

“Let me guess it is about your eyes.” The redhead said this in an agitated tone.

“No Ronald it isn’t,” Hermione said, petting her familiar softly trying to calm her nerves.

“Then what is it, Hermione?” Harry sounded more concerned about her than she and Ron did about him.

“Well, Harry this isn’t easy for me to say so I will just come out and say it. I am gay.” The brunette said this looking down at the ground. “I hope we can still be friends.”

Thankfully Harry answered before Ron. “Of course we’re still friends Hermione why wouldn’t we be. I had a bloke I went to school with back in the Muggle world who had two dads so I find no problem with it.”

“Oh come off it Harry you don’t have a problem with this!” Ron hissed in a low tone not wanting to wake up the professor.

“No I don’t Ronald and neither should you.” The boy-who-lived’s voice was tense at their friend’s comment.

“This is wrong Harry and you know it,” Ron said standing up. “I will be back when you both come to your senses.” As Ron stormed out of the compartment Hermione could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Hermione…” Harry was quick to get to her side. “It is okay he probably didn’t mean it, and even if he did that does not change the fact that we’re friends. That insensitive bastard,” Harry started to rub her back.

“It’s okay Harry I should have known this was a bad idea…” she said crying on her only remaining best friends shoulder.

“No, it wasn’t Hermione. He is just in shock, I hope and needs time to adjust to this. You know I think he loved you.” She looked up at him with eyes that shone with the silver of the moon and remains of tears.

“Don’t make me kill you, Harry James Potter.” She said this with a small smile on her face.

“There that’s better. Don’t ever let him get you down okay?” The green-eyed boy had his trademark smile on his face now.

“Okay.” Just then the door opened and there stood the girl from her dream. “Oh by the gods Pansy, are you okay?” She set Crookshanks down and moved up to the Slytherin.

“I came here to see how you were? Why are you asking me that same question?” Pansy said giving Hermione a hug.

“I had a horrible dream about you getting hurt, and it felt so real I just had to make sure you were okay.” Hermione noticed the look of shock on Harry’s face.

“I am… fine Hermione.” The other witch didn’t buy that line for a second but decided not to press the issue in front of Harry. “Besides I couldn’t let our mother’s down, I already do that with my father’s side of the family.” The brunette looked over at Harry who was just sitting there slack-jawed at the conversation. “Does he know?”

“Not about that, but that is something to discuss somewhere other than the train.” Hermione motioned behind Pansy in the entrance stood Neville and Ginny.

“Oh well I guess I will take my leave then…” but before she could leave Hermione grabbed her wrist.

“No, wait. You don’t have to leave they won’t be like Ronald, and I think we still need to talk about those books. They won’t tell anyone about the books.” The Gryffindor smiled at the Slytherin.

“Well…” they watched Pansy look out into the hallway. “Okay.” She took the seat that Ron had occupied not that long ago.

“Am I dreaming or are Pansy and Hermione being nice to each other?” Neville said in his soft-spoken tone of voice. The boy gave Harry a run for having the most unruly hair. He tripped a little bit as he walked into the compartment.

“No that just happened, but what has me pissed off is how Ronald treated you, Hermione. Are you okay?” The ginger-haired girl said as she closing the door.

“I am now thank you for asking Ginny.” Hermione’s blood froze as Draco and his two cronies stood at the door. She looked over at Pansy, but the other girl had a look of peace on her face. Looking back Hermione saw none other than Hecate standing beside the boys.

“They’re in trouble,” Pansy commented.

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked.

“That is our new magical art teacher,” Pansy said calmly.

The door opened and Hermione’s mother levitated books onto the overhead rack above Pansy. “You left these Ms Parkinson.”

“Thank you, Professor Spruce.” Pansy smiled at the goddess.

“Hello, my daughter.” Hecate never broke eye contact with Hermione. All eyes, saved for the slumbering passenger, fell on Hermione.

“Hello, again mother,” Hermione said courteously. “I guess I will be seeing you around the school then.”

“Most certainly, goodbye my dear,” Professor ‘Spruce’ closed the door and walked down the row to ensure Draco and company stayed away; seeing as they could hear him complaining all the way down the hall.

Ginny was the first to ask the obvious. “I thought you were a muggle-born?”

“So had I until she showed up this summer and the truth was revealed to me. My father admitted to having an affair with her before he married my mum. There’s more to it, but it can wait to tell after the start of term.”

Before any of her friends could say something the plump witch with the food cart came up. Harry did them all a favour and ordered some Cauldron Cakes. The old witch pushing the cart told Hermione that she would be upfront with the conductor if the professor woke up and wanted something. Mid-afternoon came and went as they sat and talked in low whispers so as to not wake the sleeping professor. That was something Hermione began to worry about. He had been asleep since the original three had entered the compartment this morning. Harry, however, said not to worry about saying that maybe the man had been up late last night worrying about the jinxed job. Then a familiar trio showed up outside the door once again. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle were now glaring at Pansy.

“So do you mind telling us why you are in with these… inferior people Pansy?” Draco said this with so much venom Hermione wanted a bezoar.

“Yeah Parks, why are you with her?” Goyle pointed at Hermione.

“She’s a better company than you.” The typical ice reserved for Hermione was now directed towards her old gang.

“Oh is that so Pansy?” There was more than a hint of discontent in Draco’s voice.

The brunette could not take this attitude thrown towards Pansy. A dream is one thing, but this was happening in front of her, and she could do something about it. Standing up Hermione felt this surge of energy flow through her body. Unfortunately, she could not see what the others saw, but she did note that Draco’s mouth hung open. “Why don’t you leave Draco? Before you do or say something you will regret.”

“Looks like Granger has a backbone,” Crabbe’s exceedingly loud voice along with his laughter causing Professor Lupin to stir a little.

“Who is that?” asked the leader of the slimy trio.

“The new DADA professor Draco,” Harry said as he and Neville stood up. “…now what were you saying?” Harry asked stepping in front of Hermione.

Draco grumbled a little bit then closed the door and walked back down the corridor. Hermione sighed as she sat back down. “Okay, what was everyone staring at?”

“You, there was this…ghostly glow surrounding you Mi,” Ginny said with this sound of concern in her voice. “There is no way that woman is your mother.”

“I… no she’s not, but she did introduce me to my mother.” Hermione let her head fall low as she admitted ‘the truth’.

“Why would you lie to us, Hermione?” Neville asked in a little bit of a hurt tone of voice.

The brunette took a deep breath. “My mother is Hecate.”

“That name sounds familiar?” Harry said leaning forward.

“Harry she is a goddess, and I didn’t want to say anything because I feared you think I was crazy.” Hermione watched as the boy-who-lived mouth fell open. Deciding if she had, to be honest about herself she would at least keep Pansy’s lineage a secret.

“Well, I guess that explains the glow, but…” Harry was cut off as the train came to a sudden stop. “What is going on?”

It took several minutes before they knew what was going on, but as the temperature dropped Hermione noticed that everyone looked terrified, but she felt nothing. As much as she wanted to help her friends she didn’t know how to. Eventually, a cloaked creature entered the room causing her friends to back away from the door. She had to hold Crookshanks to keep him from clawing at the intruder. She was baffled at how everyone else seemed so frightened, but she was untouched. Then she felt fear as she watched the cloaked creature approach Harry and watched as he slid from where he was seated to the floor in a heap. Professor Lupin then stood up and cast a spell causing the creature to leave. A few minutes later Harry woke back up and Professor Lupin gave everyone a piece of chocolate saying it would help them out. It took them all a while but eventually, they ate the chocolate. Poor Ginny was a wreck, and it took a little more chocolate to make her feel better. After getting to know the brunette’s friends Pansy wanted to introduce her to the only real friend she had in Slytherin. She sent a message through an unknown spell down the train. As the train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade Harry and co. exited the train. They saw Hagrid but did not have the opportunity to go and talk to him due to the large crowd.

As they approached the carriages Hermione saw Blaise yelling at Draco and his two stupid companions. The dark-skinned young man looked absolutely livid. He had one fist clenched and the other pointing off in the opposite direction of the approaching crowd. Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around she gazed into pale green eyes. “What is it, Pansy?”

“The person I want you to meet is Blaise.” Her voice sounded shaky and soft. Hermione a few her bad encounters with Blaise, but they were all due to his blood purity ideals. “I know how he has…”

“So long as he is willing to look past the events that preceded today I will be open to being his friend.”

Pansy just nodded. While they walked over to the other Slytherin the brunette could not help but worry about what Blaise would say about what he no doubt heard about Hermione. She watched as the two hugged and kissed one another on both cheeks. For a second Hermione felt heartbroken, but she observed that there were no displays of affection between the two. As for Draco, he was glaring at Pansy. The moment he saw Harry and the others he went over and assumedly taunted Neville or Harry. Hermione’s attention returned to Zabini and Pansy.

“So she is a half-blood Pans?” Zabini’s words were cold and callous, but his eyes held an uneasy look to them. As if he was wrestling with insulting Hermione right then and there. Pansy placed a hand on Zabini’s shoulder. “Sorry Granger.”

“It’s okay Zabini I do not expect you to change overnight.” Hermione extended her hand.

It took him a bit, but eventually, he took her hand. “That is agreeable.”

“Well are we going to get in or are we going to walk to school.” Both girls jumped at the sound of Professor Spruce’s voice.

“Who are you?” the dark-skinned wizard's voice was once again agitated.

“My name is unimportant till we get in the carriage and get moving. And Blaise before you say anything you don’t get any more ‘pure-blooded’ than me.”

Entering the carriage next to Blaise the young witch noticed the professor look back as she climbed in. Hermione watched as Pansy coaxed Zabini into the carriage with the other two. Blaise glared at Hecate for the longest time during the ride. He did this so long in fact that he was entranced by her mother. Looking out the window Hermione noticed the other carriages were not moving nor were their occupants. It seemed as though time itself was standing still. Looking back over at the goddess she was staring at one Hecate’s peripheral heads. Looking back to the wizard she saw that his mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide.

“Mother, what is going on?”

“I just wanted a chance to inform Mr Zabini of a few things. The least of which is the truth about the two of you.” The silken voice of the goddess seemed to bring their male companion back from his state of awe.

Blaise asked in almost a whisper “Who are you?”

“I am Hecate the goddess of magic, witchcraft, childbirth, and child protection among other things, and as you have heard I am Hermione’s mother.” Both girls watched as their fellow student lowered his head before the raven-haired goddess. “Thank you Mr Zabini, but that is not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“What is it that I can do for you?” the young man’s voice was far more humble now.

“Hermione will have her friends watching her back, but Pansy needs someone to do the same for her in the Slytherin commons. She like Hermione is a demigoddess. This information will go no further. I do not want Malfoy and his ilk to learn of this information.”

“They are that important?” He gestured to Hermione and Pansy.

“They are to me and many others. Before you ask, young man, it is her study habit that makes Hermione as good as she is.” Her mother seemed to want to clear the air of that unasked question. “Will you do this for me Mr Zabini?”

“I will do as you ask.”

The brunette’s mother just nodded and the carriage started moving again. It took a while but the teens started to talk to each other once more. When they finally went to get the other occupant involved in the conversation they noticed she was gone. All three of them looked at one another for a few minutes, and then Hermione asked: “How did you know she was telling the truth?”

“Until now I didn’t, and besides your eyes say more than anyone’s words could say about your heritage.” Hermione just nodded in agreement. “You not going to ask what I mean?”

“I saw them last night. They are the colour of the moon correct?” Blaise nodded in agreement. Hermione saw a bruise on Pansy’s cheek but decided to leave not to say anything while Blaise was present.

Once they arrived at the castle Professor McGonagall asked to see her and Harry. Harry was given a once over by Madam Pomfrey. After speaking with Professor McGonagall about her classes Hermione’s spirits were lifted once more. She was given a Time-Turner which was safely hidden in her robes. She looked down the Gryffindor table and saw that Neville and Ginny were holding chairs for them. Hermione couldn’t help but smile because Neville was holding one seat next to him, and the other was by the redhead. As for Ron, he was at the end of the table and it looked like none of their friends wanted to talk to him. Infarct the only one that was talking to him was a young girl with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. She glanced nonchalantly at the Slytherin table. It seemed that Draco wanted nothing to do with either Blaise or Pansy, and it was probably because of the road with a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin.

Hermione decided to sit by Neville forcing Harry to sit by Gin. Which made both of them blush. It also caused Ginny to give her a death glare. After listening to Professor Dumbledore Hermione asked the only unanswered question in her mind at the moment “Who is Ron talking to?”

“Believe it or not her name is Morgan le Fey. She just moved here from the United States.” Neville said after drinking some pumpkin juice. “She looks a lot like a younger version of the Chocolate Frog Card, but she says her father named her Morgan to annoy her.”

“How horrible,” was Ginny’s response.

Harry looked down the table at their friend and his new companion. “She looks similar Neville, but I don’t think she is related THE Morgan le Fey.”

“I think her parents changed their name on purpose.” Ginny speculated. The other three nodded in agreement and decided to move on to other topics, but every now and then Hermione would look over at Slytherin table.

 


	2. Define Love

Hermione stood there in the Gryffindor common room in stunned silence. She should be getting ready for bed, but instead, she was standing there listening to Ron try and demonise her for being who she was. Part of her wanted to run up to her dorm and cry, but there was this anger she felt which only seemed to grow as the ginger-haired boy continued his tirade. These two conflicting feelings made her uneasy; which in turn made her unsure of what to say, much less what to do. Dean and Seamus had joined Harry and Neville in defending her choice. That made her smile, but Ronald decided to take that as some kind of signal to continue.

“Ha, see she smiles when you talk Seamus!” Ron sounded almost proud of himself for pointing out the brunette’s grin.

“Of course she would Ron because we’re defending her. Real friends would do exactly what we are doing.” Harry’s voice sounded derisive of their former friend’s actions.

“That thing is no friend of mine!” Ron pointed an accusatory finger at Hermione as if she were on trial.

The next thing anyone knew Ronald Weasley was on the floor covering his mouth. Harry stood over him rubbing his fist.

“Don’t talk to her or about her like that again Ronald Weasley. I don’t know who you are, but you are not the friend I remember. That bloke would stand beside Hermione no matter what. He tried to jinx Malfoy for insulting her. What happened to him?” Harry turned to face her, and Hermione was awestruck by what he had just done. “Don’t worry about this anymore Hermione. The rest of us are on your side.” With that, he and the others went to their dorms.

“I cannot believe it, Ron, why are you doing this?” Hermione just let the question remain unanswered as she walked up to her dorm. As she went up to the stairs the demigod pulled out her new iPod. It was a gift from one of her mum, and even though was a muggle device it surpasses anything she could compare it too in the wizarding world.

As she entered the room she shared with Lavender, Parvati, and one other girl whose name was slipping her mind at the moment the music began in a low sombre tone.

_Mother, mother_

_There's too many of you crying_

_Brother, brother, brother_

_There's far too many of you dying_

_You know we've got to find a way_

_To bring some lovin' here today - Ya_

 

_Father, father_

_We don't need to escalate_

_You see, war is not the answer_

_For only love can conquer hate_

_You know we've got to find a way_

_To bring some lovin' here today_

 

_Picket lines and picket signs_

_Don't punish me with brutality_

_Talk to me so you can see  
_

_Oh, what's going on?_

_What's going on?_

_Ya, what's going on?_

_Ah, what's going on?_

 

_Mother, Mother, everybody thinks we're wrong_

_Oh, but who are they to judge us_

_Simply because our hair is long_

_Oh, you know we've got to find a way_

_To bring some understanding here today_

_Oh_

 

_Picket lines and picket signs_

_Don't punish me with brutality_

_Talk to me_

_So you can see_

_What's going on?_

_Ya, what's going on?_

_Tell me what's going on_

_I'll tell you what's going on - Uh_

_Right on baby_

_Right on baby_

As the song ended Hermione could feel the others in the room staring at her. Looking over she saw them standing by her bed. Taking out her earphones she looked around the room. “What is it?”

“What were you listening to?” Lavender asked enthusiastically.

“A muggle song called ‘What’s Going On’ by Marvin Gaye, why?”

“You were singing it, and it sounded so sad.” Pravati sounded almost heartbroken.

“It fits what I’m feeling.” Hermione wiped away a tear she felt falling down her cheek. She wiped it away. “I used to think of Ron as a good bloke if a bit daft.”

“He is a complete div, Hermione. Forget about him and go find the girl of your dreams.” Lavender said this as she walked back to her bed. “Good night.”

Hermione decided to look one last time at the book her mother gave her before giving into kip. “I wonder what tomorrow will be like.”

“ _It will be interesting my dear.”_ Hecate’s voice came from all around her.

“Where are you?” Hermione looked all around the room and did not see her.

“Where is who Hermione?” Pravati said. The girl gasped for some reason. “Hermione you’re glowing!”

Looking down at her hands, Hermione saw that she was surrounded in silver light. “Must be Ronald, I will tell Professor McGonagall about it tomorrow.” ‘Why is this happening to me?’ Hermione asked herself.

“ _I wanted to know if you’re okay. And only you can hear me, Hermione.”_

‘Meaning you are in my head.’ The young teen thought.

“ _Correct. I give you your privacy though.”_ The raven-haired Olympian's words were soothing. _“What is bothering you, my daughter?”_

‘I thought you could read my mind?’ the Gryffindor retorted.

“ _I can, but that doesn’t mean I will force the answers I seek out of you. That is the joy of being half mortal: Free will.”_ Hermione raised an eyebrow. _“I do not harm anyone unless they deserved it. Now, what is bothering you, my little girl?”_ This brought her some semblance of peace.

‘I think Pansy is being abused by a family member, but I don’t know how to approach it.’ Hermione set her iPod down and hooked it up to small wheel generator she created with a hamster wheel and some miniature magnets. She cast a spell causing the wheel to spin. ‘I don’t know how to help her, much less ask her about it.’

“ _You will have your chance tomorrow.”_ With those words, Hecate’s presence left the room, and Hermione drifted off to the first full night of peaceful sleep in months.

Hermione was the first to wake up the following morning, and the last to leave the dorm. She was told last night that Arithmancy was at nine and would be the best class to ‘start off with’ on the first day. She made it there early enough to get some quick reading on the divine side of her blood. What she read was astonishing. The book outlined how she could enhance a spell by mere thought and could create small flames by sheer force of will. By the time Professor Vector came into the classroom, Hermione had was finished with chapter one.

“Ah, seven minutes early Mrs Granger?” Professor Vector asked as she walked into the room.

“Yes ma’am it only seems proper,” Hermione answered.

Hermione found that she enjoyed the class. It was exact and understandable. Hermione then went back to the Gryffindor Common to meet Harry and Neville. She had given up on Ron after last night, sort of. As she made her way to the Commons she thought of what she would say to Ron, and after she figured out what to say she calculated his reactions. None of them was good. After making sure no one was around she used the Time-Turner for the first time. As the hour slipped by she saw Ronald walking ‘out’ with Morgan, and then Harry and Neville heading up the stairs backwards. As time went back to normal the brunette heard the two boys talking about something as the descended the stairs.

“I can’t believe Ron would say something like that Harry.” The diminutive voice of Neville sounded deathly serious.

“Well, he did. I just hope Hermione does not run into him alone.” As Harry and Neville entered the common room Hermione coughed. “Oh… hello, Hermione, you haven’t seen Ron have you?”

“No, and I get the feeling that it is a good thing.” Hermione tried to hold back the frustration in her voice, but that was a losing battle.

“Yes, but don’t worry about it Seamus gave him what for, and I’ll tell you everyone in the room wanted to hit the stupid git.” Neville had his heartwarming ear to ear smile on his face.

The brunette smiled “So what did he do?”

“He heard that you were in a carriage with Parkinson and Zabini,” Hermione’s eyes widened at this statement. “…and he started saying that you were betraying the house. Well, when Seamus heard that he came to your defence.” Harry said this with a smile. “My only regret is that Percy came in before I could have my shot.”

“And that would have cost Gryffindor more points, Harry,” Percy said with a serious look on his face. “Now Hermione I do not want you worrying about this, I have told Ron to reconsider his views.”

“Have you forgotten you’re talking about Percy?” Hermione asked this with her head tilted to one side.

“No, but I am willing to give him a chance to change. You should too okay?” the older boy asked as he left the commons.

“That’s easy for him to say that’s his brother,” Neville said as he followed Percy out. His anger was lost as he stumbled down the steps.

As they entered the Great Hall the brunette looked around and saw Ronald down near the staff table. Ginny waved them over to sit with her and Seamus. “Hey, Hermione did you sleep well?”

“Yes, why?” Hermione had one eyebrow raised.

“Well, Lav said that you were hearing things and that you were glowing silver.”

“Must have been Ron messing with you,” Seamus said somewhat disgusted.

“Must have been, I will be right back let me talk to him and see if I can get his head on straight.” Hermione saw the looks of shock or concern on their faces. “I will be fine, and if anything happens you guys are right here.”

Hermione started walking over to Ron. As she approached him she saw the start of a black eye on the left side of his face. She also noted Morgan sitting beside him. It looked as if she was rubbing his shoulder. As she got closer Ron looked over and grunted when he saw it was his old friend.

“Hello, Ron,” Hermione said tentatively. He just grunted again. “Look Ron I just wanted to talk and see if we can’t still be friends.” Hermione was using a soft tone of voice trying not to agitate the young man.

“I thought we were more alike than we are Granger.” Ron’s voice carried so much hate it was nearly visible.

“What do you mean?” the brunette was holding back the aggravation she felt.

“I thought that maybe one day we could go on a double date. Me with my girlfriend and you with your BOYFRIEND,” now the redhead was just shy of yelling. “…but now that is shot.”

“No, it is not Ron we can still do that. You just change the gender of the person I am dating. Why is that so bad?”

The dark haired girl from last night spoke up next. “Because you could do much better with a man than a woman Hermione,” the slyness in her voice was aggravating. “You look angry.”

“Yes, I am…” Hermione noticed the smile crawl across Morgan’s face. “Is this funny to you?”

“No, it is not Hermione. I am just disgusted with you.” Ron’s words shocked her. “And this is why: you are hanging out with the scum of the wizarding world. Not to mention lying about your lineage. What would your mum and dad think of you if they heard this?”

“That’s none of your business Weasel.” The cold female voice caused Hermione to spin around to look at its owner.

“Pansy…” shock evident in her voice caused Hermione to shake her head to regain her composure. “We need to talk…”

“Don’t you remember how she mistreated you?” Ron was not holding his voice down anymore.

“So people can’t change Ronald?” Ginny asked. “You bloody sure have.”

“Is there a problem here Mrs Granger?” the stern voice of Professor McGonagall stopped the conversation.

"No, ma'am.” Hermione took her schedule from McGonagall. “Ron…” didn’t even let her finish her sentence he just turned away from her and continued eating.

“Leave him alone Hermione he is not the friend you once had.” Blaise’s words were cold but true. This was not the same Ronald Weasley from the previous two years.

“You're right,” Hermione started back to the end of the table. “…can I talk to you for a minute Pansy?”

“Sure.” The two girls walked off to a corner of the Great Hall. “What is it, Hermione?” Pansy’s voice was shaky at best and completely scared at worst.

“Is someone beating you, Pansy?” Hermione kicked herself as soon as those words left her mouth. “I saw a bruise just below your eye last night.”

“You did?” the shock in her voice was clear peerless crystal. Pansy looked around wildly for a few seconds, and then looked down at her feet. “I…I don’t want to say Hermione, and please don’t ask again.” Pansy’s voice almost sounded caustic. Not wanting to destroy their tentative friendship Hermione just nodded. “Thank you. I will tell you someday Mi, but not today.”

Hermione caught the tenderness, and respect in the nickname. She almost wanted to believe that there was love in there as well but did not feel like deluding herself in those thoughts. She let her eyes wander over Pansy and prayed no one caught her. Making her way back to the table Hermione couldn’t wipe the smile off her face at seeing how dejected Draco looked seeing Pansy sitting with Gryffindors. Once she was done with her meal she made an effort to sound excited about starting previously unavailable classes, but at the bottom of schedule was a class she had not signed up for Magical Art. Looking over at her mother Hermione could see a smile on the goddess’ face. Thankfully it was only on Fridays just before dinner.

Once breakfast was over with Hermione went with the rest to the hallway leading up to Divinations class, but cut out to Muggle Studies before anyone was the wiser. Once Muggle Studies was done she went back to Trelawney’s classroom and took the seat next to where Harry was sitting. When he noticed she was there he jumped just a touch. Divination class was a joke. The professor seemed foolish to Hermione. Ron seemed to have enjoyed the fact that the professor was predicting Harry’s death. The longer the day went on the more annoyed she became with Ronald Bilius Weasley. At lunch, he made a few cutting remarks about the two Slytherins sitting at the Gryffindor table. Before she could respond to his remarks placed a hand on her arm and shook her head in negation.

After lunch was Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione was somewhat afraid of the class given the book that was assigned to it. When Hagrid brought out a hippogriff Hermione wondered if her mother had anything to do with this. Harry was the first one of the students to ride one, and Hermione felt a little guilty about stepping back and leaving him out there like that. Of course, Draco and his two ever-present nitwits had ruined the class for everyone. Hagrid cancelled the rest of class. Pansy suggested they use the time to go over their ‘family spells’. Hermione didn’t pass up the chance to study the material and thought that it was a good idea to study together rather than solo.

“Great that’s just my luck.” Hermione looked over at the raven-haired Slytherin. She was leaning back in her chair. They were in the back section of the library well away from prying eyes.

“What is it Pans?”

“Well, it seems my ‘powers' will revolve around the springtime and flowers." The smirk on her face seemed to suggest things other than indignation.  
  


“Well, that is your mother’s domain is it not?” Looking at her new associate Hermione could not help but notice how the light played across her face. The deepness of her eyes hiding the kindness she knew to be there, and her short cropped dark hair causing her heart to still for a moment.

“Yes, but the strength of my magic will depend on what season it is. Listen to this: Your magic will experience waning during the fall. It will level out during the winter, and in spring you will experience an explosion of power. The peak of your power will be in midsummer.” Letting out a huff she continued. “I mean I like the thought of it, but won’t that affect my studies here at school?”

“Maybe, but maybe not, if either of us will experience that it will probably be me. Think of the myriad of domains my mother has.” The brunette let her head fall at this thought. “I mean she is the goddess of the night so during the day I _will_ be weaker than I am at night.”

A gentle hand on her shoulder causes the Gryffindor to look at her oft cold-hearted companion. “Hey don’t say that.”

“Why?”

“One because you are the brightest witch of the age, and second because I don’t think the goddess of magic would gift _any_ of her children with insane magical power.”

“You have a point.”

The rest of the day progressed without mishap. Draco was absent from dinner that night, and his absence caused his two goons to glare at poor Hagrid. Hermione’s mind was consumed with worry for her friend as she went to bed. Her sleep brought her no peace however as her dreams were plagued once more with scenes of a place immemorial.

_The sun beat down on the training grounds so hard the young mage could barely focus. Hecate had been training since dawn, but still was having trouble focusing on her training. Lynceus was chewing her out at the moment for the failure to control her magic. She could have severely injured someone had she not been quick with a fire quenching spell._

_"What were you thinking Hecate? Someone could have lost their life in that inferno!" the raven-haired man’s voice was rising in volume as his tirade continued. The brunette started to ignore her mentor's scream session. She let her mind drifting to the thief from last eve. The young woman’s dark hair reminded her of the night sky and her eye was the colour of an endless field of grass. Tapping on her forehead brought her back to the here and now. "Were you even listening to me?" Lynceus' was glaring at her as she had just killed his mother.  
_

“ _Not really my mind was… distracted.” She decided to ‘admit to’ the errant behaviour she exhibited, and take the consequences._

“ _No kidding, and do you not remember what lesson one in magic is?”_

“ _Distraction is death, one must keep a focused mind or the magic will be uncontrolled.” She rolled her eyes, at the statement. She was no child and had taken care of the flames that she created. “Aside from the SMALL fire, I created there was nothing wrong with my form today.”_

“ _What could be clouding your mind so much that you insult your instructor?”_

_The older mage’s comment made her wince. He was two decades her senior, and here she was insulting the man._

“ _Sorry master. I met someone last night, and I cannot seem to get them off my mind.”_

“ _Oh so who is the lucky man?” the angry tone was gone from his voice and was replaced with the comedic tone everyone loved._

“ _It is a woman.” Hecate could feel the blush creeping up her face._

_This broadened the smile starting to cross his face. “Well, I am sure she is something to have caught your eye.”_

_In a near whisper, she replied, “She is.”_

A rocking sensation woke Hermione from her dream, and Brown’s grinning face was the site that graced her bleary eyes. After deflecting some comments about talking in her sleep Hermione proceeded to the washroom to get ready for the day. She had promised Neville and Harry that she would meet them before breakfast.

As she entered the Great Hall her brown-silver eyes fell on her two friends. Waving to get their attention the brightest witch of the age made her way to the two raven-haired boys. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You Hermione,” Harry’s words seemed restrained. “Your eyes have these strange lines in them, and...”

Hermione cut in. “After breakfast, I will tell you everything.”

After the trio ate their breakfast and traversed the distance to the grand library of Hogwarts Harry asked. “Now Hermione about your eyes…”

“Do you remember what I said on the train about my mother?” Hermione said this as quietly as possible.

“Yes, but Hermione that is nigh impossible. I mean if you’re a demigoddess then your mother is…” Harry said quietly as they entered the library.

The young witch looked over her shoulder to make sure they were not being spied on. “A member of the Olympian Pantheon.”

“You got to be joking?” Harry asked.

“Would I joke about something like this?” Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.

“Never,” the boy-who-lived looked down at the table.

“Ok then, let’s get moving before we are late to class.” The boys rolled their eyes at this comment. “What am I the only one who likes their classes?”

“No. You are just the only one out of the three of us.” Harry said this with a sly grin plastered across his face. Hermione just rolled her eyes and followed her friends out of the library.

The rest of the week went by without error. Draco finally returned on Thursday and made a big deal of his ‘injury’. No one at the Gryffindor table was buying his stick, but a majority of Slytherins were soaking it up. Upon his return, Pansy started to break away from Draco and his associates. She and Hermione had started to study their abilities after the last class of the day. Hermione was worried about doing this at first due to time constraints, but like with other classes, she started using Time-Turner to achieve these ends. Something that Professor McGonagall did not tell her was how tired the instrument would make her. It seemed to her that she wanted to sleep for more hours than there were in the day, and there were a couple of times that she wanted to do that very thing. It was only her dedication to her studies that kept Hermione from doing this.

As she settled down to sleep on Thursday her dreams were once again plagued with visions of two ancient mages.

_The moon shone brightly in the night sky as Hecate gazed out across the sea. A gentle breeze moving her bangs across her eyes once more. Moving the strands of hair with her hand Hecate let out a long and steady breath. She had sent a missive to the intruder from last night that she wished to speak with her this evening. A sound from behind her caused the brunette to turn quickly hands ready to cast a spell if it was required._

_Seeing the silhouette of a young woman Hecate lowered her hands. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”_

_As the other teen stepped into the light the Atlantian noble let her eyes wander over the figure that emerged from the shadows. “I am sorry my lady, but it is a habit of mine.” A smile crossed the woman’s face as she met Hecate’s eyes. “Is this a social call, or is this about my intrusion last night?”_

“ _Social.” The lady of the house could_ _ **feel**_ _the warmth gathering on her cheeks. She decided to focus on something besides her guest's figure. “I believe you clarified the incident last night as a mistaken identity?” The other woman nodded her head. “I have confirmed your story, so I believe I owe you an apology.”_

“ _Oh really?” the smile broadened on the woman’s face. “Well, it is accepted Hecate.”_

_Hecate could detect something other than humour in the green-eyed woman's words, but could not place it. "Well you know my name, but it seems that I do not know your_ _**real** _ _name. If it is not against your code I would like to know your name.”_

“ _It is not against my code, but in my line of work names are dangerous things.” The young woman drew closer to her. “It is Leto by the way.”_

“ _Funny we are both named after goddesses it seems.”_

“ _So it seems.”_

_After some gentle conversation, she learned that Leto had risen from nothing to one of the primer shadow mages of Atlantis. This was news to her. The only shadow mages she knew of were noble, but that did not preclude a commoner from being one. They were just very rare, and indeed Leto informed her that Magnus one of the generals of the kingdom, and an old friend of hers._

_As the conversation drew to a close both women agreed to do this again, and Leto let herself out the same way she entered: through the shadows. Once she was certain she was alone Hecate made ready for bed. As her eyes closed she whispered what thoughts were drowning her mind._

“ _I think I am in love.”_

As Hermione awoke she felt breathless. The dream _felt_ so real it wasn’t even funny. The more she tried to remember it the more it slipped away. It was aggravating that she could remember a dream that scared her to death as if it were a school exam, but dreams she wished to remember slipped out of her mind like water from a sieve. She let out a sullen breath and decided to get ready for the day. Today was art class, and the last thing she wanted to do was anger this particular professor.

As she entered the Magical Art classroom she saw a collection of all the houses. Something that she thought she would never see outside of the Great Hall and the Quidditch Pitch. She wasn't that big of quidditch, but Harry played and as such she would support him. Then she saw someone waving in her direction.

“Hey Pansy, what are you doing here?”

“I signed up for this class. What are _you_ doing here?” Pansy had a grin on her face.

“Uh… so did I… not really it was a suggestion I could not refuse.” Pansy mouthed ‘Your mother.’ “Yes.”

“She’s the teacher of the course why would she want…” Pansy was cut off as Professor Spruce entered the room.

“Good afternoon class.” Spruce sounded upbeat and overjoyed.

“Hello, Professor Spruce.” The class responded as one. After going through the introduction to the class and how they would be graded on skill and innovation. This seemed to have Pansy's eyes sparkling. Once the class was given its instruction the brunette standing next to green-eyed Slytherin saw Spruce motion for her to follow.  
  


As she walked away from the easel she caught a glimpse of something moving off to her right. Looking over towards Pansy she saw a copy of the girl at her paint station, and glancing back she saw a mirror image of herself in deep thought. Looking around the room it seemed that the others could not see or hear them. They followed the goddess out into the hallway.

Instead of being empty like she had hoped Hermione found herself looking at the headmaster standing across from the classroom. He was not looking at either the two students instead he seemed entrapped by ‘Spruce’ who had taken her normal form.

“Good afternoon Professor Dumbledore.” If Hermione were the betting type she would lay a wager that the headmaster was dumbfounded if the look on his face was any indication.

Dumbledore regained his composure and bowed his head. “Good afternoon my lady, I assume that one of these two is your daughter?”

“Very astute Professor Dumbledore, but I assumed you knew who was teaching Magical Art.” Hecate had an ear to ear grin on all three faces. Dumbledore shook his head in the negative. “Well in any case you are correct Hermione is my daughter, and Pansy is the daughter of a fellow goddess.”

“I see. Well, it is a pleasure to know that you trust this school enough to allow us to teach these two young demigods.” Professor Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth, bowed his head again and walked away.

"He knew?" was the shocking question from Pansy.  
  


“Yes, it would have surprised me if he didn’t know about the divine blood in the two of you.” Hecate sighed. “It surprises me that he did not sense me… but then again it would have angered me if he did sense me.” The goddess was laughing at the irony/hypocrisy in her words.

“Professor Spruce can we get back to class?” the Slytherin’s voice sounded almost desperate.

“Of course Pansy, but after class, it would be advised that two of you cover some of the material in those books.”

“Yes, Lady Hecate.” Pansy quickly turned around and nearly ran back into the classroom.

“She loves art?” Hermione raised an eyebrow in question.

“Yes, now back to class and use whatever inspiration you can find.”

After the class finished Pansy told Hermione that she needed to go get her book and that she would meet her in their usual spot in the library. As Hermione entered the library she felt this unnerving sense of danger. Looking around she could see no one around that would cause this feeling. The only person near her was the librarian. Walking back outside the feeling was kicked just intensified. It seemed to be pulling her in the direction of the dungeons. The feeling, however, did not emanate from the dungeons. It emanated from an unused classroom. The door was locked, yet she felt whatever was causing this feeling laid behind this door. Leaning in close to the barrier between her and the object of her curiosity Hermione could hear a familiar male voice yelling at someone. Leaning her body closer into the door the Gryffindor felt her body ‘slide’ through the wooden door. As she arrived on the other side Hermione’s eyes fell upon Crabbe and Goyle standing before a cowering Pansy.

“Did you _hear me,_ Pansy?” Crabbe’s voice was filled with rage. He raised fist left nothing to Hermione’s imagination as to what the two intended to do to their housemate.

“Impedimenta,” Goyle spun around wand drawn, but her target Crabbe was as slow on his feet as he was in his head. Hermione didn’t give him the chance to respond with a spell of his own “Expelliarmus!”

“Granger what are you doing in here!? We locked the door!” Goyle was smiling widely. “Hey, Crabbe look who it… CRABBE! What did you do to him?”

“Stopped him from getting in my friends face, are you okay Pansy?” observing that the Slytherin girl nodded her head slightly Hermione extended her hand. “Come on let’s get out of here.”

Pansy grabbed something out of Crabbe’s hand and walked over to the sole Gryffindor in the room. Casting the unlocking charm on the door and leaving with Pansy following quickly behind. It wasn't until they made it to the library that Hermione noticed she was holding Pansy's hand. As she loosened her grip the other girl tightened it. Hermione started looking for a location out of the way, but still within earshot of Madam Pince. As she took a seat Pansy just fell into her arms and broke down crying. They remained like this for a while with Hermione whispering comforting words in Pansy’s ear.

Once the Slytherin stopped crying Hermione asked: “Are you all right now?”

“Yes thank you, Hermione.” Pansy wiped the last remnants of tears away. “I have never had anyone other than Blaise or Mil does this for me Mi.” the other girl then leant in and kissed the brunette on the cheek. “If they had a brain they would think you loved me.”

Hermione giggled a little bit. “Well we need to study these books, so let’s get started.” The brunette thought she saw the Slytherin’s shoulders fall, but decided not to act on it. ‘I wish I could tell her I do love her.'  
  


 


	3. What Matters

It had been five days since the incident with Crabbe and Goyle, and Pansy seemed to be folding easily into the group of friends Hermione had. She sat on the opposite side of the table from Neville to avoid some of the catastrophic events that surrounded the tall raven, haired boy. It appeared Ginny had noticed the closeness in the way Hermione would sit with Pansy which made the brunette worry about getting interrogated by the ginger-haired girl. Even Ron was back with the group regardless of how he had been acting, and that was fine with her as long as he didn’t insult Pans.

The hooting of owls caused them to look upwards. Feeling the raven-haired girl's hand grip her arm as a dark brown owl came their way carrying a red envelope. When the letter dropped in front of Pansy she grabbed the letter and ran out of the Great Hall. Hermione did not like the look and Pansy’s face and followed her. She was about four yards behind her heart’s desire when she darted into an unused classroom. As the brunette opened the door she heard the familiar sound of a letter being opened. As she closed the door the screaming began.

“ **PANSY LILLIANA PARKINSON WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? I HEARD THAT YOU HAVE BEEN HANGING OUT WITH A MUDBLOOD AND IGNORING YOUR OBLIGATIONS TO MR. MALFOY! NOW YOU HEAR ME YOU LITTLE SLUT I WILL TAKE NO MORE OF THIS NONSENSE, AND I WILL BE IN HOGSMEAD NEXT MONTH SO YOU BETTER PRAY TO GOD THAT…”**

Hermione’s ears were ringing but the sound had stopped abruptly as she embraced Pansy. She whispered tender comfort into Pansy's ear as the raven-haired teen broke down into a cascade of tears. Glancing up she saw her mother standing there with this furious look on her face.

“Are you two all right?” The two of them nodded. “That would have exploded causing injury to the two of you. Be careful what mail you open Pansy I could not rescue your mother, but that does not mean I will let harm come to her child.” With that, the Olympian fade away in her trademark silver light.

“Are you okay Pans?”

"Yes Mi, but you shouldn't have come here." The raven-haired girl buried her head into the Gryffindor's shoulder.

“Why not Pansy?” whispered Hermione.

“What your mum said is correct that howler would have blown up because I was not alone.”

“Please tell me that it was not your father Pansy.” Hermione’s voice was laced with concern and fear for her friend’s safety. She was already calculating what she would do to get Pansy into a safe home environment. The one that she could only dream of was her living with the Weasley’s. Ron would never live in the Burrow again if a Slytherin was staying there; which was a pity really because no one else in his family held such ideas.

“No, it wasn’t my father. It was my Uncle Jeffery. He has total control over the family because he severed You-know-who. Which caused my grandparents to nearly disown him, and he killed them because of their ‘cowardice’.”

She never once released her hold on Pansy. Once she felt the other girl pushed back she looked into pale green eyes. “Are you okay now?” the other teen nodded in agreement. “Come on let’s get back to breakfast, and if he is at Hogsmeade I will be there with you don’t doubt that for a second.”

Shaking her head to clear her mind Hermione walked up and gave the password to enter the common room. As the portrait of the Fat Lady closed behind her Hermione’s thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into someone. When she stepped back she realised who it was. “Oh hey Gin what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing just wondering when you were going to tell us.” Ginny was tapping her foot while Harry and Neville were looking as confused as the brunette felt. “What was in that howler that made you so mad?”

Relieved that she didn’t have to admit to being in love with Pansy just yet she answered as honestly as possible. “Someone sent that howler because she was not seeing Malfoy anymore, and I heard the tail end of it.”

Harry was the next to speak. “Well Hermione if anyone threatens Pansy they will have to deal with us,” he gestured between the four of them. “…because regardless of how she treated us last year, and the year before, she has proven to be a very respectable young lady.”

“Thank you, Harry. Ginny can I speak with you a minute… alone.” She looked over at the boys who just looked at each other and shrugged. When they got to Hermione’s dorm it was empty saved for Lavender. “Lav, could you leave us for a moment?”

“Sure, I was about to go to the Great Hall anyway to meet Pravati.” Lavender then walked out.

“Okay, what’s up, Hermione?” Ginny asked as she sat down on Lav’s bed.

“You nearly gave me a panic attack out there you know.” The know-it-all tone was hard to shake, but she was trying.

"What do you mean all I said was… Oh my god, you have a crush on Pansy?" Ginny quickly covered her mouth after she finished the statement.  


“Yes Ginny I do, and when you said that I nearly had a coronary.”

“Oh really," the young redhead chuckled. “Have you told her?” Ginny had this smirk on her face that was almost daring the brunette to say ‘yes’.

“No, and before you ask I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to ask her about it now.”

“So when would be a good time to do it, Hermione?” Ginny had one eyebrow raised, and was giving the older girl a look as if she were saying ‘Your point is?’

“I don’t know Ginny. I just think that asking her RIGHT NOW would make me seem like a vulture. I would feel as if I was prying on her moment of weakness.” She let out a soft mournful sigh. “Which would make me no better than Draco Malfoy, and I wouldn’t feel too good about doing that.”

“You best do it soon, or you may never get the chance.” Ginny was tapping her foot on the ground. This was one of her many nervous ticks. She knew what was coming.

“This is coming from the girl who has the world’s biggest crush on one Harry Potter.” The older Gryffindor couldn’t help but smile at this.

“Well, that’s different.”

“Oh really Ginny, how is it different?”

“Well I am younger than Harry, and he is well… Harry.” The blush coming up on Ginny’s cheeks was cute.

“So, he is just a boy. How is he different? So he’s the boy who lived how does that change him being a student and a friend of yours?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Then ask him out, or at least be your normal self around him more. He will like for who you are not what you look like.”

“Oh so if I looked like Professor Snape he would love me?” Ginny challenged.

“Well, thankfully Gin I don't think you have to worry about that unless you want to use a Polyjuice Potion."  


“God NO, do I look crazy to you?!”

“No.”

Both girls started to laugh hysterically after that. The conversation soon turned into girl talk about things that had been going on from the dementors to the speculations on Sirius Black. Hermione got Ginny to promise not to tell a soul about how she felt about Pansy and decided to let her know one last secret: her mother was at the school.

"You're kidding! Where is she?" The redhead heads eyes nearly popped out of her head.  


“I don’t think I am at liberty to talk about that part of it…”

A smooth silken voice interrupted her. “You shouldn’t have let anyone know that much, my daughter.” The ethereal form of Hecate entered the room. “But I trust Ms Weasley as much as you do, but now that she knows she has to be sworn to secrecy.” Hermione looked over at Ginny to see that she was now standing with her head bowed in respect of the goddess.

“Mother…” Hermione kept her voice low but did not let her eyes drop to the floor. This was her friend, and she viewed her more like a sister than a friend.

“I was planning on letting the friends you trust implicitly know the truth on the eve of your birthday anyway, and this is the reaction of a god showing their true presence to a mortal.” The goddess nodded her head to Ginny. “Well, almost all your trusted friends. There are those who I doubt have the mental fortitude to be in my presence without being vaporised or the fact that they would keep their mouths closed. You Ms Weasley I trust.”

Once Ginny motioned her understanding the raven-haired immortal continued. “Now in six days I will tell you who to bring to the dungeons do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am I do, but why the dungeons?” The fear in Ginny’s voice was obvious, but to Hermione seemed unnecessary considering it would take a monumental fool to attack a goddess. Like Crabbe and Goyle but that would be their last action.

“Like I said my daughter I would not kill unless I had no choice. I believe someone must exhaust all options before I must give them my fatal judgment.” The brunette just nodded. “Well I must go some poor sot is lost in Sudbury.” With that Hecate faded from view.

“Oh my god…” was all Ginny could say.

“Gods,” Hermione corrected.

“Right I’ll have to remember that.”

 

The next few days went by faster than Hermione would have liked, and that was with the Time Turner being used to give her extra study time for all her courses. She was amazed at Pansy skill with magical artwork. While the rest of the class was still working on their first painting Pansy had finished one painting and started another. The first was a beautiful Unicorn that once she put her name on the back of the canvas started neighing and galloped from picture to picture. Hermione found herself distracted by Pansy when she was painting. She would get this distant look in her eyes and her delicate hands would bring that paintbrush to the canvas and one stroke would lead to the next and soon the class was looking at a forest. This, among other things, was something she appreciated about Pansy. Sure she was a brilliant artist, but she was also a good listener and a kind-hearted person. The cold façade was placed there to keep people from hurting her like that family member of hers. Hermione didn't even want to think his name, not because she was afraid of him, but because it brought to her mind emotions she did not want: Hate, anger, blind rage, and disgust to name a few. She did not like these feelings and went to great lengths to control her emotion. Hermione was not a violent person, nor did she want to become one. It was just she could not understand how someone could hurt the person they should be protecting.

On Tuesday the brunette’s life was turned upside down. She and Pansy were going over both Transfigurations notes, and the divine spells the books contained. Both girls could feel the power lying just out of their reach. The sound of a closing book caused them to look over their shoulders. Standing not five feet away was the ‘dangerous’ triad: Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

“It looks like Granger’s found her girlfriend boys.” Malfoy had this sneer plastered across his face.

“Yeah Pansy why hang around with her, are you planning on going on a date with her?” Crabbe started to laugh. “Or are you two passed that stage?”

“Oh, very intelligent you brainless oaf, and I don’t think that is any of your business.” Pansy retorted, but Hermione noticed a blush crawling up her cheeks.

“Oh but it is Pansy, you see _I am_ you, future husband!” Draco’s voice was raised a little above normal. “Or have you forgotten that?”

“That is what my uncle and you want. It is not what I want.” Pansy’s voice was starting to falter.

“And why is that?” Goyle had his crooked smile on full display.

Hermione could take this no longer. “What difference does it make you overgrown toddler. She said she doesn’t want to marry him. NOW leave before you do something you regret.” Hermione was trying to get Madam Pence’s attention.

“Get over it Granger she is taken.” Crabbe was reaching for his wand, and Hermione flicked her wrist sending the… boy’s wand flying. “What the…”

“Just leave boys you won’t win.” The Gryffindor’s voice was as hard as steel which caused the temperature to drop a couple of degrees in the area.

“What are you doing Granger?” Crabbe snapped.

“Nothing, now leave.” Hermione pointed in the desired direction.

As the three boys left a hand was placed on her shoulder. “Mi, are you okay?”

“Yes, Pansy why?” She was smiling to give her friend a sense of safety and calm.

“You were glowing silver, and your eyes were completely silver. It was quite scary.” Pansy once again was blushing. “It was kind of sexy.”

Hermione just blushed even deeper than Pansy. “Thank you, Pansy. Pansy do you love me?” The last part left her mouth before Hermione could stop it. “I am sorry Pans you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want…”

“I do love you, Hermione.” The raven-haired beauty took her hands in her own. “I have wanted to tell you for… months. You should see a number of letters I have written to you that I have never sent. Or the poems I have tried to write to you, my notes are covered in little hearts with your initials next to them." Pans let out a sigh. "Listen to me ramble on. You must think I am crazy now."  


“No, I don’t.” Hermione squeezed the other girl’s hands. “I think it is kind of cute.”

“You’re embarrassing me Mi,” Pansy said as she leant in closer to the brunette.

“Am I now?” Hermione leant in closer.

“Yes.”

And with that, their lips met in a gentle and slow kiss. Hermione felt the other girl's arms wrap around her waist, so she placed her arms around her neck. The kiss lasted for a couple of minutes, and when it ended Hermione leant her forehead against Pansy’s. They remained like this until the librarian made her presence know.

“While this is touching ladies I think this is a little too public of a place for such displays of affections.”

“Sorry, Madam Pince.” Both of them responded and then broke apart to gather their belongings.

After leaving the library Pansy said she was going to do something special for Hermione’s birthday, which was in three days. This among other things had the Gryffindor’s nerves on pins and needles. The most obvious to anyone who knew was what might happen once the day of her birth rolled around.

Late Thursday afternoon found Hermione sitting out in the courtyard trying to calm her mind for something she wanted to try. A squeaky voice behind her caused Hermione to jump.

“Hey Hermione, what are you doing out here instead of in the library?” Colin Creevey’s little voice cut through the silence of the courtyard like a police siren in a graveyard.  


“Just need some fresh air. I have a lot on my mind.”

Thankfully she was done with her classes for the day, and the Time Turner was good for when she needed a break and wanted some time to study without interruption. She decided to tell Pansy about the Time Turner and the reason for it. It was hard enough keeping Harry, Neville, and Ron in the dark about the time turner, but she told Pansy about it to prevent any suspicion.

“How are you doing after last year?” Colin asked a bit apprehensively.

“I am fine I knew what I was up against I just wish I could have found out sooner.” Hermione looked down at the ground. “How are you doing Collin?”

“I am doing okay I think I have had enough excitement for a lifetime… maybe.” Collin said this holding up his camera.

Laughing Hermione responded, “Well you’re sure in the right house Colin.”

“Well, I will see you around Hermione.” With that Collin walked back into the castle.

Looking at her watch Hermione noticed it was almost time for dinner, and Pansy wanted to meet up for some alone time. Before she did that though the brunette wanted to try something she read in her book that was not in Pansy’s. Standing up she looked to her right then left. No one was there saved for a few birds, and baring an animagus among them that was it.

Hermione focused her energy on her form and being able to see in three hundred sixty degrees. She felt something shift both through her and around her. Once the ill feeling passed the brunette opened her eyes and jumped. Not only could she see the old crumbled wall she was staring at earlier she could see Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall standing to her right and behind her respectively.

“Ms Granger, what is going on?” The shock in the head of Gryffindor houses voice was more than obvious.

“Um… stretching my legs?” sure it was weak, but compared to how she was feeling it would have to do.

The shock on McGonagall’s face was replaced by agitation in no time. “Ms Granger this is no joke Sirius Black could have used you to sneak into the castle, and using illegal spells is...”

“Professor this is why I wanted to talk with you with Ms Granger present.” The twinkle in Dumbledore’s eyes was brighter than normal. “Hogwarts has been given the honour of teaching not one but two demigods. The second of which is Ms Parkinson. Now we need to keep this amongst ourselves, for now, Professor McGonagall because the dementors would have even more desire to enter the school once this is known.”

At the mere mentioning of the dementors, the headmaster’s voice took on this agitated voice not to mention this undertone of sheer hatred of the things. Hermione had only encountered one and that was enough to last a lifetime.

“Are you serious Albus? She is a demi… god?” McGonagall nearly whispered the ‘god’ part of the question.

“Yes and by tomorrow there will be no doubt about it, and I thought you should know being she is a Gryffindor.”

“I see…” Professor McGonagall looked at her again. “Who is your parent…?”

“Mother, it is Hecate professor.” Hermione kept her voice level and down to earth as it were. “May I go now professor I am a little hungry?” Hermione let the ability fade as it was starting to give her a headache.

“Of course Hermione,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “… I believe Ms Parkinson is waiting for you in the entrance hall.”

Hermione didn’t even need to ask how the headmaster knew this information she knew he was aware of just about everything that happened in the school, though how she was unsure. Running through corridor after corridor as fast as she could Hermione wonder if by tomorrow she would physically be faster or stronger? Personally, she would rather be faster because it would allow her to get from class to class easier. As she made to the Entrance Hall a smile crossed the brunette’s face.

“Hermione there you are!” Hermione embraced her charging girlfriend. “I was worried about you, ya know.” Pansy ended this statement with a kiss.

As they kissed the two love birds hear the doors to the Great Hall crash open, and two familiar voices collide with one another.

“Hey watch where you’re going Zabini!” Ron yelled at the top of his lungs.

“You shoved me Weasley, and I am just concerned about Pansy and Hermione.” Blaise had been hanging out with the four of them as of late (her, Pansy, Harry, and Neville).

Ron’s response was drowned out by a chorus of Oh's and Awe's with two very similar voice towering over them all. One of them was doing catcalls and the other said "That's how it's done Hermione!" through closed eyes Hermione rolled said eyes at Fred and George.

Someone else said, “They really are a couple.”

While others said, “They are so cute together.”

As Hermione put her head against Pansy’s she felt someone grab her arm. She was then violently jerked away from the Slytherin. “What the hell do you think you doing Hermione?!”

“I was having a romantic moment with my girlfriend till you ruined it.” She struggled against her fellow Gryffindor’s grip. He may have looked scrawny but he had a vice-like a grip, and all she could think of was a gust of wind. Then Ron Weasley was sent flying across the Entrance Hall as Percy came up to his brother and Hermione.

Everyone gasped.

“Are you okay Hermione?” asked Percy.

“I am fine.” Hermione looked over to Pansy, and then to Ronald. “Don’t ever touch me again Ron Weasley.” She then took Pansy’s hand as they walked through the crowd into the Great Hall.

 


	4. Flyint Students and Spells

It was the oddest dinner ever, to say the least. For the first time since they started to view each other as girlfriends, Hermione and Pansy sat next to one another. Sure they were getting death glares from a majority of Slytherins, but everyone else was smiling at them. Dean and Seamus came up and joked about how Hermione was changing the ‘Queen’ of Slytherin for the better. Hermione’s roommates were in shock, to say the least, and as dinner drew near its end the brunette watched Ginny talked to Neville, Harry, Fred, and George. They all left the Great Hall with Gin in the lead.

She and Pansy left a few minutes later. As they made their way to Gryffindor tower Pansy stopped and pulled the brightest witch of the age into a tight embrace. “Are you worried about tonight Hermione?”

“No.” Brown-silvery eyes watched the raven-haired girl raise one eyebrow. "Well maybe a little, but that is because it is the unknown. There are no books in the library that I could find that dealt with what we are…"  
  


“So that is why you were spending a lot of time in the restricted section.” Pansy had this smirk on her face.

Pursing her lips Hermione asked “So?”

“Easy Mi, don’t read what is not there, and besides I have been there looking as well. Perhaps we are never meant to know, or perhaps for each demigod the abilities are different.”

This made some sense because of Hercules and Perseus, both sons of Zeus, had totally different powers. Hercules was insanely strong, and Perseus had wits and cunning. “So it would be impractical to write a book about us.” Hermione could not help but frown at this news.

“Hey don’t be sad,” Pansy softly kissed her. “…I have something for you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small necklace. “My mum gave this to me when I was six. It has been somewhat of a good luck charm for me, and I thought you could use it tonight. Hold up your hair please?”

Lifting her hair Hermione commented, “You know I have often thought of cutting it.”

“Don’t do it makes you more alluring. You know you have a beautiful neck.” Hermione felt gentle lips on the back of her neck. “Not to mention your overall beauty.”

Hermione could feel her cheeks get warmer. “Stop it.”

“Why it’s the truth? I just wish I could be there with you tonight.”

“Maybe there is a way.” the confidence and the determination in the familiar voice made Hermione smile. “And before you ask Hermione yes I believe you now. Although Fred and George know as well I think it will be fine.”

“Hey Harry, so you believe me now huh?” Hermione could not help but laugh. Over the past three weeks, Harry and Neville had been debating her on whether she was being tricked or not and apparently even Harry’s somewhat unmovable views could be moved in the presence of a goddess. “So how did Neville fair?”

“Quite well actually, he only tripped down the last flight worried about running into Draco. But your mother caught him with a soft bed of dirt.” Hermione nodded.

“So how can you help me get into Gryffindor tower, Harry?”

Hermione and Harry smiled. “You will _see_ trust me Pans. Now Hermione your mother said you will need rest after what you did today, and no I have no clue what she is talking about.”

“I tried to go ethereal.” Hermione took the Slytherin’s hand and gently kissed it. “I will see you tomorrow…”

“Oh no, you don’t Mi. I am walking you to your House entrance and that’s final.” Pansy interlaced their fingers. “Now let’s go.”

It had taken Hermione nearly an hour to fall asleep, and even then it was fitful. It was your typical creepy falling dream, and then it shifted to a submerged dream followed by being buried alive. The weird thing was that she was not afraid of any of this. It was this that made no sense, and when she did wake up it was to the sounds of people yelling her name. As she looked around she had one response…

“Eeeek, what is going on?”

“You’re flying…” was Fred’s response.

As she gave him a death glare George said, “Well you asked.”

It took her some time to get her feet on the ground, and some explanations to Percy as to how she was doing this. It wasn’t until he saw her eyes that he even remotely believed her. Then someone said the one thing she hoped no one would say.

“So why are you not in Slytherin?”

“Because my mum and dad were told not to tell me until necessary, and that wasn’t until just before the start of term.” Hermione took a deep breath. “My mother believes that you should earn your way.”

“So you trying to tell us…” one of Foregut went silent as a chill filled the room.

A familiar silken form entered the room drawing everyone's attention to it. It was at this moment that Hermione noticed a small dog at the boy's feet.

“Yes she is a demigod, and no that does not make her the brightest witch of her age that is something she must earn.” The goddess floated up to the sixth year that had been cut off. “And young man the next time you kick my sacred animal I will turn you into one.” It was then that Hermione looked at his feet and saw a small dog with flaming eyes limping away from him.

“Yes ma’am,” was the miniature voice. First, the Handmaiden of Gaea left, and a few minutes later her presence left.

“That was your… mum?” All the Hermione did was nod. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because of what you are doing now I am not a goddess and I am not as powerful as Merlin. So if you don’t mind quit staring at me.”

It was as if ever one blinked at once. After a few more question Percy ushered everyone back to bed, but Hermione and Harry said they would do so in a little bit. As soon as Percy was out of sight Hermione was hit by a flying raven haired Slytherin. “Oh, Mi are you all right!?”

Rubbing Pansy’s back Hermione replied, “I am now.” They stayed like this for a few minutes until Hermione heard a yip come from the floor. Looking down Hermione saw the little dog jumping around their feet, and before she could ‘shoo’ it away Pansy picked it up. “What are you doing Pans?”

"Well it is your mother's favoured animal isn’t it?” the bookworm just nodded. “Well do you think she would mind if I took this one as my familiar?”

“I don’t think so, but I am the wrong one to…” She was cut off by a fabric falling on top of her.

“Hey, Ron what’s up?” Harry’s voice was markedly kinder to Ron than it was several hours ago.

“Nothing, hey what are you doing down here at this time of night?” Hermione could see Ron leaning over the couch.

“Nothing, why is something wrong Ron?”

“Have you heard Hermione thinks she is a demigod? What a div.”

Before Hermione could respond a soft pair of lips pressed against her own. In the kiss induced haze, she realised that she and Pansy were under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak. “That’s harsh you know Ron, and besides you didn’t see her mother show up and jump on Edward Foregut’s case. Let me tell you, Ron, it isn’t a joke.”

“Oh come on Harry that could have been Lav or Pravati under a clever enchantment.” At this point, Hermione started to squirm and the hand was removed, and the swiftly replaced by a soft pair of lips which was a welcome upgrade in the Gryffindor’s opinion. “Well, whatever the case is I’m sure her fame won’t surpass yours goodnight Harry."  
  


“Good night Ron,” Harry grumbled. Hermione then felt the cloak get lifted off them. “Well looks like you found a good way of keeping Hermione from snapping back at Ron.”

“It was a spur of the moment thing.”

“Sure it was…” Was all Hermione could say before she returned the kiss. Next thing either of them knew was a warm wet tongue started licking the side of their faces. “Ack, what the heck are we going to do with you?” Hermione was now rubbing the little guy/girl behind the ears.

“Better yet what are we going to name her?” Hermione raised an eyebrow. “She does not have the plumbing to be a male.”

“Hmmm… How about Rexa?” and before anyone could say otherwise the little hound yipped her approval.

“Well, I need to get you back to Slytherin dormitories before they get wise about your disappearance.”

“I will see you tomorrow Mi.” With one last kiss goodbye, Pansy picked up Rexa. “Come on girl time to meet my other friends.”

The next morning was a madhouse. By the time she got to the art class, the whole school was abuzz about her true nature. It made her smile somewhat at the look of shock on Draco’s face the moment he found out it was not a joke. What was infuriating was that Ron joined Draco on this one.

“ _Hey Granger, heard the story about your mother. Do you honestly believe she is a goddess?” Draco’s smirk was laughable considering said goddess was behind him._

“ _Yes, Hermione who do you want to buy that stick?” Ron chuckled._

“ _I expect no one to buy it, and besides my mother only honours her children that study, and that doesn't ask for handouts.” The two boys couldn’t know the truth in the statement. Her book had told stories of some of the more foolish siblings she had. Not to mention the ways in which they died. In some cases, it was a little too much information._

“ _Sounds like a rehearsed answer to me Weasley…” Draco looked over at Ronald. “First time you have stood next to me Weasley.”_

“ _Well, this is the first thing you and I have ever agreed on.” Ron had this obnoxious smile on his face, but it was the look on her mother’s face that made Hermione and Pansy take one step back. “What are you scared of Hermione the truth?”_

_The four of them (Ron, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle) broke out into laughter. As Percy made his way to intervene Hermione stepped forward “If you’re so confident about your beliefs then you would not be afraid to accept a duel challenge from me.” Hermione drew her wand as she stepped forward. Her mother lifted an eyebrow. ‘I have got this don’t waste your energy they aren’t worth it.’_

‘ _If you’re certain,’ the smile on Hecate’s face made the people behind her let out a held breath._

“ _What no second?” Ron asked._

“ _Correct, because I don’t think I will need one, especially given who I will be duelling.” A chorus of ‘Oh’s’ followed that comment._

“ _Fine Weasley you’re my second.”_

_It astonished Hermione that Percy wasn’t stopping them then she saw someone sitting on the Slytherin table with an ear to ear grin on her face. She was the same woman from the Leaky Cauldron, and Hermione was racking her brain to figure out who she was. Her long thin black hair and silvery eyes reminded her of the description of her sister Circe. She would change men into pigs upon drinking a potion, and who would if that failed to seduce the man then remove important parts of their anatomy. The book her mother gave her described her gaining immortality by taking one of the Apples of Immortality and eating it. This act earned her two-millennium imprisonment in the Sea of Monsters, and after which she served as Hecate’s personal assistant._

_A soft cough off to her right made Hermione’s head snap in said direction. It was Professor Dumbledore. “Do you mind if I oversee this little duel?”_

“ _No professor I don’t.” the brunette said with a small smile gracing her features._

_People cleared a duelling area for them to duel. Which shocked Ron, it looked like he was expecting Hermione to back down. She and Draco took the customary position in the middle of the area that had been cleared._

“ _Are you ready Granger?” The smirk on Draco’s face was annoying._

“ _Yes.” Hermione curtsied then walked the required distance turned to face Draco. And without waiting for him to cast a single spell she decided to end it out of pity for Ron. “_ _Petrificus Totalus!”_

_As the stream of energy left her wand Hermione felt Draco prepare his counterspell. Using her free hand cast a gust of the wind in his direction. The wind knocked Draco’s wand out of his hand shortly thereafter the spell collided with him. Flicking her wand once more she caused the spell to reemerge behind Draco and collide with Ronald. She could see a trail of the silver snake behind her. Thinking quickly she doubled up the spell (which surprised everyone) bringing it up over peoples’ head and down on the two that had their wands drawn._

_As Crabbe and Goyle fell on their face Hermione felt this shiver run up her spine, and she felt instantly weak. She fell to her knees amid gasps and shrieks of awe. Pansy, Harry, and Rexa were at her side in no time._

“ _I am fine, I am just tired. Anyone else, think that I am faking it?” No one said anything. “Okay with that out the way I need to eat…”_

As the memory faded she put her earphones in, and selected a song on her iPod. She strolled into the art class. Before she could hit play a pair of hands covered her eyes. “About time you know.” A soft pair of lips touched her cheek.

“I couldn’t help it I had to sleep after what happened at lunch.” Hermione leant back into Pansy.

“I’d believe it. So what was it like to have access to your powers?” The Slytherin kept her voice low and soft.

“I don’t know how it is going to be for you, but for me, I could feel Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle preparing to cast their spells. Not to mention I was able to manipulate a spell that I had already cast.”

Hermione tried to get out from Pansy’s grip. “Ah ah, I don’t think so Hermione Granger this is my surprise for you.”

“Can’t I just sneak a peek?” Hermione could not wipe the smile off her face.

"Nope Kitten. I have been working on this after dinner for the past week with your mother giving me time to stay after curfew." They stopped walking “Okay now you can look.”

As Hermione opened her eyes she saw three familiar faces staring back at her. She, Pansy, and Rexa were in front of the beautiful lake scene she had been painting over the last week and a half. “Oh by the gods Pansy it’s beautiful.”

Hermione turned around and put her arms around Pansy’s neck. “Thank you, my love.” A pair of slender arms went around her waist. “Now before I put my name on it where do you want it sent?”

“I would like to look at it every day, but it would be hard for me to get it home. So send it to my home. My mum and dad look forward to meeting you.” Hermione placed a gentle kiss on Pansy reminiscent of their first kiss.

“I will gladly do so, and I would love to meet them.”

 


	5. Questions and Answers

It was now the beginning of October, and the news that a demi-god was going to Hogwarts was lost amidst the fervour of Quidditch. It had taken some time but eventually, people believed her about needing to study. Yet Draco and Ron seemed to think she could do just about anything. One was wanting to get close to her to improve his ‘status’ within the magical community, and the other was wanting her to help him break every rule he could think of.

“Ronald I have told you before: HELL NO!”

“Oh come on Hermione who’s going to know?” Ron walked in front of them with hands clasped in a pleading gesture.

“Her mother would know Ron. Besides when was the last time she showed any desire to fly?” Harry had this stern sound to his voice.

“Oh, come-on Harry surely you wouldn’t mind a midnight visit to Hogsmeade?”

“This is a blessing Ron, not something to use for personal enjoyment.” Neville for all his clumsiness carried this wisdom in his voice none of the others could match; though Hermione thought that wisdom was gained from being so accident prone.

“Ron we might be going there any way within the next few weeks.” Hermione was using both a bit of reason and a little eavesdropping she had done.

“Fine… fine, but I am telling you I would be using those abilities like mad especially in Quidditch.”

“Actually she is forbidden from playing any kind of professional magical sport.” A smooth female voice came from behind them.

Turning around Hermione saw for the first time in weeks her sister. They had chatted a few times after her birthday, and the more she talked to her the less like the legends she seemed. While she did admit to turning men into pigs it was done with potions, not Transfiguration. She also denied being a dark witch but admitted to stealing one of the apples of Immortality. She was also going to be the girls guide regarding their abilities since neither of their parents could do it.

“WHAT!” Ron snapped, but her sister just smiled.

“You heard me, little boy…” Circe patted Ron on the head. “If you were a man I would so turn you into a pig.”

“Sister…” Hermione came to Ron’s defence, although given his argumentative nature she had thought about it a couple of times herself.

“I didn't know you had… Oh my god, you're… you're…" Ron just let his mouth hang open.  
  


“Circe, that is a correct little boy. Anyway, I will be seeing you and Pansy at six okay?”

“Sure, why so early though?” Hermione had her hands full with Rexa so her attention was divided.

“I have a meeting I want to get to later on this evening, and do not wish to be late.” Before either girl could respond Circe faded away in pink light.

“Is your sister always a flirt?” Ron asked with this far off look in his eyes.

“Ron she was not flirting with you,” Pansy said with a sheepish smile.

“Oh come on did you see how she was looking at Neville?”

“Ron you have to be dreaming. She is like what, at least a thousand years old?” Harry said with calm certainty.

“Like that would stop a goddess from liking someone,” Ron said under his breath.

It was Pansy who spoke up next. “Ron she is immortal not a goddess. Secondly, I think she is seeing someone.”

“Whatever, look if you guys won’t do it that’s fine, but just remember I offered the advice. If you do it I want in.” Ron was deflecting the truth as usual; although this seemed a little out of the left field as the Americans say.  
  


As they watched Ron walk away Harry started shaking his head. “And here I thought he couldn’t get any worse. That bloke doesn’t seem to get it.”

Hermione and Pansy went to their Art classroom to do some homework. Well, it was more like Hermione doing work for her other classes and Pansy working on of her painting. Hermione found that watching Pansy paint was just like being in the library (minus the smell of old books).

The boys spent the rest of the day at the Quidditch pitch watching Harry practice. Hermione was stunned at how much Blaise had changed. He went from an ardent ‘Pure-blood’ to someone who could care less about blood purity. This, however, did have its side effects. Draco refused to be seen in public near him, and Ron was taking his place in Malfoy’s circle of ‘friends’.

A couple of weeks later just before Transfiguration Hermione was in the library studying for a test that was to be given that day when she noticed what time it was. As she gathered her belongings a caustic female voice arose from behind her. “So we meet again Hecate.”

Upon hearing the name Hermione dropped her Monstrous book. “I am sorry you must have me confused with someone else.” Turning around she saw Morgan. “You know my name Morgan, and it is not Hecate. That…”

The other girl didn’t let her finish. “No it isn’t, but it once was, and that is why I hate you.” As Morgan approached Hermione could see the weave of magic falling off the young woman. Where once stood a thirteen-year-old Hogwarts student now stood a woman in her twenties wearing dark purple robes that left little to the imagination. “I have spent the last three thousand years looking for you, and here you are.”

The severely agitated woman slowly approached the younger witch.

“Look I have no idea what you are talking about?” Hermione slowly palmed her wand just in case she needs to use it. “What is your true name, Morgan?”

The dark witch just laughed. “Well, well it looks like you never stop trying to figure things out Granger, but this I can assure you: You will never break his heart again.”

“If you’re talking about Ronald I never intended to hurt his feelings if he had any for me in that way. I cannot change who and what I am to suit him!” Hermione never would raise her voice in the library for anything, but she really didn’t want to have a fight here.

She was saved by the last person she would have expected to help her.

“What is going on here Granger?” At the sound of Professor Snape’s voice, Morgan apparated. “Who was that Granger?”

“You would not believe me, professor.”

"Try me, miss know-it-all?"  
  


“The Morgan le Fey just tried to attack me.”

Hermione was right he didn’t believe her. To boot, he docked Gryffindor fifty point for her ‘lying’ to him. By the time she made it to Transfigurations Hermione was more than fuming, and to make it worse when she saw Morgan sitting there with Ronald stroking his hair the woman smiled at her. Her blood began to boil. A pair of hands on her shoulders snapped Hermione out of her anger induced stare. “Mi, what’s wrong?”

"Nothing I think I just had a run-in with someone who should be dead."  
  


“What you mean like Circe.” Hermione just leant in and whispered the name in her girlfriend’s ear. “You mean she was…” Pansy just cupped a hand over her mouth.

“Yes, and I don’t know if she was ‘in two places at once’, or if this really was her ancestor under a guise to look like our Morgan.”

Pansy pointed towards the door. Turning around Hermione saw Professor McGonagall walking into the classroom. As she walked to the front of the class both girls took their seats and waited for the test to begin.

The test was easy, but the rest of the day was yet another madhouse for Hermione. She could ‘feel’ herself being in multiple places at once, and she was starting to feel some fatigue from all this time travel. After dinner, Hermione and Pansy went to the art classroom where Circe would be going over what they had learned from the books, and see them put it into practical application. Hermione was nervous, and even though she wouldn’t admit it Pansy looked a little scared herself.

“What’s wrong, Pansy?” Hermione breathed into said girl’s ear.

“Nothing, it’s just your sister gives _me_ the creeps.”

“She is honestly _not_ that bad…” Looking over to Pansy the Gryffindor amended. “Okay so she has more than her fair share of ‘creepy’ moment, but I think that is how she likes it. Besides she can’t be any worse than Professor Snape.”

“Way more just ask Severus,” Circe said with a slight laugh as she leant against a window. The world outside was sheathed in darkness, and this seemed to give Circe an eerie glow.

“You know Professor Snape?” Pansy quizzed.

“Indeed, but we are not on friendly terms with one another.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione’s curiosity was defiantly her mortal flaw.

“Well he thought I was you, and well you know me…” the immortal left the statement hanging for emphasis. “I had to turn him back though, which somewhat annoys me, but it is better than the alternative.”

“I don’t even want to know.” Hermione could feel the blush crawling up her cheeks, and averted her eyes from the elder witch.

“Fine fine, anyway let’s start putting some of that book material to use shall we.” Circe then held out her hand and caused a bright red flame to emerge. “Now Pansy you will need to practice using the form of magic the book teaches you for now, and Hermione I want you to focus on manipulating the current of magic.”

As both girls practised defending themselves from her sister relentless attacks the Gryffindor could feel the magic in the school scream at the strain of two children of Hecate ‘stretching their legs'. Pansy was able to pull up walls of the earth which shield her from the attack, and on occasion make a few attacks of her own. As the lesson came to an end Hermione decided to ask her sibling a question that had been bothering her since the encounter at the library.

“Hey, Circe is it possible for someone to avoid death?”

“Yes and no. You can avoid it, but you cannot outrun death if you are mortal. Why do you ask?” Circe sounded both elated and concerned.

“I met a woman who called herself Morgan le Fey. No, she was not the student here at Hogwarts. She was disguised as her I think, but when they dropped the charm she was taller and well… scarier.”

“The Morgan le Fey is a half-nymph, and thus quasi-immortal. This means she will, and does age dramatically slower than other demi-humans.”

“So you’re saying _the_ Morgan le Fey is still alive?” Pansy voice sounded as panicked now as when she received that Howler.

“Yes, and unfortunately for someone out there,” Circe’s eyes briefly lingered on Hermione. “…Morgan is an old rival. You see Morgan le Fey was not born in the middle ages, her actual date of birth is much closer to the fall of a legendary nation.” A crack of thunder in the distance caused the green-eyed immortal to look skyward. “I get it, I get it. Look there is a lot at stake here, and that is about all I can say on the subject okay. Now both of you head in for the evening okay, and no _late night visits_ okay.” With a wink, Circe faded away in pink light.

“She doesn’t know us that well,” Pansy stated as she held out her hand.

“Defiantly my love,” with that Hermione kissed the Slytherin Queen.  
  


After walking Pansy back to Slytherin dorm entrance door Hermione went back to her dorm to get her night clothes, and then to the showers, after taking a hot and steamy shower the brunette head for bed where her dreams were plagued with sorrow.

 

_The sun was setting into the sea, and the gentle breeze moving the long raven hair that Hecate held in a blood-stained hand. She brought the woman’s head to her chest. Sobs and tears cascaded like the surf behind her. Her old friend lay dead not a few feet away, but his lover had fled as the gods voiced their anger. She could leave but told them that she would stay here and die with the one she loved._

If you could see inside my heart

Then you'd understand

I'd never mean to hurt you

Baby, I'm not that kind of woman

_The ground shook violently causing the dying mage to cast her eyes skyward. The light was a violent red with mixtures of blue thrown in. She could catch glimpses of people fleeing to boats in the harbour, but she knew that only a fraction of the population would survive. Not far away child stumbles. Out of both reflex and compassion, Hecate used magic to aid the boy to his feet again. As he and assumedly his mother made it on to a boat she cast one last spell to shield as many vessels as possible from the violence that was about to occur._

I might not say I'm sorry

Yeah, I might talk rough sometimes

And I might forget the little things

Or keep you hanging on the line

 

In a world that don't know Romeo and Juliet

Girl meets girl and promises we can't forget

We are cast from Eden's gate with no regrets

Into the fire, we cry  
  


 

_The sound of cracking earth made Hecate look to the mountain that had always adorned the skyline of the city she loved. There was a thick black cloud accompanying the darkening sky. With one last shake, the earth split open. Hecate’s last thoughts were “I love you, and I always will.”_

I'd die for you

I'd cry for you

I'd do anything

I would lie for you

You know it's true

Baby, I'd die for you

I'd die for you

I'd cry for you

If it came right down to me and you

You know it's true, baby I'd die for you

 

I might not be a saviour

And I'll never be a queen

I might not send you roses

Or buy you diamond rings

 

But if I could see inside you

Maybe I'd know just who we are

'Cause our love is like a hunger

Without it, we would starve

Hermione woke in a cold sweat. This was the second time since she arrived at Hogwarts that she dreamed of this Hecate, and it was like all the other dreams. a frightening dream short and to the point. Or at least she thought they had a point. If they didn’t the god of dreams was just fucking with her. It also seemed that she had fallen asleep listening to her iPod. She got up and began to get dressed. She would have to work quickly if she was going to study for class and get there ‘on time’. She also had to meet Pansy today after Charms.

She met up with Pansy in the library under the pretence of study for DADA. Well, she did actually study, but her girlfriend went looking into the mystery Circe left them with. Apparently, Harry offered to help her do this, but Hermione told him that he didn’t have to. He didn’t listen.

“Hey, guys I think I have found something.” Pansy’s words cut through her thoughts. Looking up from her DADA homework Hermione just nodded. “Well, I was thinking what if it isn’t anywhere in Britain. What if it was somewhere else in Europe?”

“That makes sense, but where ever it is, has to be so hidden that no one could find…” Hermione stopped her mind ceased on one location. She thought of Pansy’s latest painting and her dream from last night. The painting appeared to have three rings of water, with two blank bands, and an island in the middle. There was only one location that fit. “Pansy the odds she was born there and survived are beyond reason.”

“I know, but if she is an Atlantian it makes sense. Her ability to use magic that exceeds our understanding,” Pansy motioned between the two of them. “…and the fact that she was called King Arthur’s older sister. It all fits. That is the only reason the gods wouldn’t want Circe to talk about it.”

Harry cut in at this point. “Hey, would you guys mind filling me in here because I am kind of lost.”

“Harry I think that the original Morgan le Fey may have been born in Atlantis,” Pansy said in a bookwormish tone.

“I think I am either a really good influence on you or a really bad one.” The brunette said this with an ear to ear grin on her face.

“No worse than Harry.” They all laughed at this. “By the way, Hermione Professor Dumbledore said that I should stay with Madam Pomfrey on the thirtieth of this month.” Pansy leant gently into Hermione’s shoulder.

“Why?”

“My birthday is the thirty-first.”

“That’s a week from today, and why with Madam Pomfrey and not… never mind.” If Pansy birthday was going to be anything like her’s staying in her dorm was a bad idea. “Would you like some company around midnight?”

Harry started laughing, and both girls just hit him on one of his arms. “Ouch! Sorry, but that just didn’t sound right.”

“That and Hermione it looks like you need the sleep.” Hermione wanted to argue, but the bags under her eyes would tell a different story. “Should we tell Ron about Morgan?”

“No, he wouldn’t believe us,” Harry interjected.

“But you guys are best mates.” Pansy voice carried a lot of concern, and yet she did not know how well placed that concern was.

“Pansy you have only personally known Ronald for a little over a month, and I can tell you he does not take news like this easily.” Harry let out an exasperated sigh.

“What do you mean?”

Hermione began to tell her of the first few times she was around Ron and his overall condescending attitude towards her most of the time. Especially about Crookshanks. After Pansy expressed a few choice words about Ronald she pulled out her Magical History book and began to study.

The days flew by like lightning and more than her homework load showed it. The third years were all abuzz about going to Hogsmeade for the first time. The class was going to be cancelled as well. Well everyone except Harry and Hermione that is. He was unable to convince Professor McGonagall to sign his permission form, and Hermione was upset because classes were being cancelled. Much to Ron’s dismay, Harry was just going to leave it at that. Hermione, while she felt sorry for him, did not want him to break the rules… this time.

On Thursday Hermione stayed as late as possible with Pansy; which ended up being just a few minutes after dinner. She was still up at midnight working on some last minute Charms homework when she caught the scent of jasmine. A smile crept across her face wondering what Madam Pomfrey’s reaction would be to the awakening of a demigoddess in her infirmary. Thinking better of just rushing down there to see how she was doing the brunette gathered up her books and went to bed.

The following morning Hermione dressed quickly and went to the hospital wing. She could see the remains of a botanical explosion in the room underneath the door. As she opened the door a resounding sound hit her ears like an air raid siren.

“Achoo,” Pansy had a handkerchief pressed to her face. “Why jasmine? Why couldn’t it be another flower?”

“What’s wrong love?” the brunette said as she drew near.

“I am allergic to jasmines’ that’s all.” Pansy held out her arms.

“I don’t know with the way you’re sneezing…” Hermione held one finger to her mouth, but when Pansy started to pout she caved. Seeing this caused her to give in “Okay.”

“I still plan to go to Hogsmeade even if Madam Pomfrey will not let me go.”

“You can go Ms. Parkinson, but I must say you do need to take this medication, and please stay away from spells that cause a field of flowers to bloom in places they shouldn’t.” Both girls jumped at the sound of the nurse’s voice. “And take this, it should help with your allergies.” The woman handed the Slytherin girl a phial of blue-green liquid.

“Yes, ma’am.” Taking the liquid that the nurse gave made Pansy’s face contort. “Can I go now?”

“Yes Ms Parkinson, but I must tell Professor…”

Pansy interrupted the elderly witch. “No please don’t, and trust me when I say this he wouldn’t believe you in the first place.” Madam Pomfrey just nodded. A knock on the door made Hermione turn her head. “Hey, Mil how was last night?”

“Better than expected, and crazy as hell,” Millicent Bulstrode walked in caring a change of close for Pansy. Hermione looked between the two Slytherins with questions filling her eyes. Millicent just laughed.

“Mil has a boyfriend, and she went to his dorm last night…” Pans let the sentence die.

“Ahhh… So did you have fun?” Hermione could not stop the sentence before it left her mouth. Her hands quickly went to cover her mouth and blush.

“Don’t worry about it, Hermione. It seems Pansy has an influence on you in the same way you have one on her. To answer your question yes I had loads of fun.”

“Mi, are you blushing?” Pansy quizzed.

“No. Well, I need to let you get dressed. Oh, we have a date today.” The brunette had a small smile on her face as she started to leave.

“Wait! Today’s going to be our first actual DATE!”

“Yes my love, and don’t worry you look good no matter what you wear.”

By the time Hermione made it to the Great Hall, she was a nervous wreck. Her friends tried to soothe her nerves. Fred and George thought it was funny to start cracking jokes as to how red Hermione had become in the course of five minutes. It was only the appearance of Rexa with a not that calmed her down.

_Hermione my love,_

_Just for that, I am going to wear something that is going to knock your knickers off! Anyway, tell the boys everything went fine if you haven’t already, although knowing you it has already been said. Give Harry and Neville the other Parchments they are my Potions notes and homework._

_Pansy XOXO_

“So what did she say?” Harry asked expectantly.

Handing him the other four pieces of parchment the brunette said: “Here are her notes and homework, and don’t forget to use other words so you two don’t get her in trouble.”

“Thanks, hey Neville I will leave these on your bed so you can copy them, and then I will hold all of them okay?”

“Sure. Thanks again Harry for asking her about it.” Neville said between bites of porridge.

A few minutes later Millicent and Pansy walked into the room, and what her girlfriend was wearing made the brunette’s mouth fall open. Pansy was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, a dark black long sleeve shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. She barely noticed the smirk on both the girl's faces as they got closer to the group of friends. Pansy closed the distance between their lips when she sat next to her.

“Do like my outfit?” Though she knew the question was rhetorical all Hermione could do was a nod. “I thought you would my sweet, anyway Harry, Neville those notes should help you with the potions assignment.”

“Thanks for them Pans; we don’t think he will know you helped us. If he does oh well it will be us that get the shaft.” Harry said while shrugging his shoulders.

With no further conversation, the group quickly finished their breakfast and went their separate ways. Harry assumedly went to the Gryffindor tower to finish his Potions homework, and the rest of them to their first outing to the mage only town.

As the couple arrived at Hogsmeade they ran into a few of their respective housemates. Seamus was happy to see the two girls; while a fifth year Slytherin girl Hermione didn’t know was insinuating that an inappropriate liaison had occurred last night between the two of them. No one was interested however in what she had to say, and the girls moved on to more pressing matters. Both girls had butterflies floating in their stomachs as they entered Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop. As they sat down Hermione could feel that a few people’s eyes never left them, and it would have bothered her a month ago, but now she just ignored them. As their tea arrived conversation turned to their friends in particular Harry. Pansy kept saying that her father could forge Vernon Dursley’s signature if Harry would give her the paper. Hermione reminded Pansy of the madman after him and the idea was dropped.

Seamus and Neville entered the shop to encourage the two girls to go to Honeydukes. Remembering Harry’s love for sweets Hermione decided it was a good idea. They finished the tea paid for it and left with the other two Gryffindors. As they walked hand in hand down the main road in Hogsmeade they were accosted by many Slytherin's who had thought Pansy was back with Draco, to which the raven-haired girl had solemn news for Draco’s supporters. The most vocal of which was Marcus Flint, and a man Hermione had only seen in her dreams.

“Hey Pansy why are you holding _its_ hand,” Flint pointed at Hermione, and his voice held so much hate it was almost palpable. “…I thought you and Draco had patched things up?”

“Look I have said this before and I will say it again: Draco and I are history. We were never really a couple anyway.” Pansy spat back at the seventh year as she tightened her grip on Hermione’s hand.

“There you are, Pansy. Draco was looking for _you_." The deep baritone voice caused the raven-haired girl to jump.  
  


“Uncle... How are you doing?” The fear in Pans’ voice was beyond what Hermione had heard before. The rage Hermione felt at that moment was causing the wind increase in speed.

“I am doing fine flower child, but Draco and I were looking for _you_." Her uncle seemed more obsessed with himself that she had been told.  
  


“You needn’t worry about her Mister… ?” Hermione was trying to hold back the venom in her words, but like Harry trying to control her wild hair, this was a losing battle.

“Garrus, Jeffery Garrus, and you are?” More than his words were filled with disdain. If looks could kill Hermione was certain she would have died.

“Hermione Granger, and before you fill the air with hate and blood purity epithets I suggest you talk to Draco there,” Hermione pointed a finger at the blonde Malfoy scion. “…about challenging me to a duel.”

Garrus laughed. “Yes, he tells me that you are some kind of half breed of a goddess. Rubbish, I say.” The man broke out into a broken laugh. “Nemesis he says, but that is preposterous. _If_ the gods of old were to lay with anyone it would be a witch or wizard.”

Hermione was taken aback by this. Draco was of the opinion she was a daughter of Nemesis. Upon hearing this Hermione just growled. She flicked her wrist in their direction and thought of increasing the wind speed. This caused the group to be knocked back a few feet. Hermione turned around, and still holding onto Pansy’s hand she started walking towards Honeyduke’s. Hermione could hear Garrus screaming for Pansy to stop, but given the sounds behind her, the man was having a hard time staying on his own two feet.

“What was that all about Hermione?” Pansy asked in a panicked voice.

“I was not going to stand there and let him hurt you Pans.” Hermione grabbed both of her girlfriend’s hands and gently brought their bodies into contact with one another.

“Would he have done anything in public?” the brunette Gryffindor let her head lean against Pansy’s.

“No, but he may have done something in the tea shop…”

“Well we would have handled it I am sure they would not penalise us for defending ourselves. Now let’s focus on happier things.”

Hermione leant in and kissed Pansy with all the passion such a public place would allow. As they kissed Hermione could feel this warmth fill her entire body. Hermione’s mind was then flooded with memories from a life she had only caught a glimpse of in her dreams. The first time she and Pansy had met, their very first kiss, the first time they had made love, and the day that they both had died. As the memories became clear to her the identity of the woman who aided in their demise was revealed: Maya. She looked an awful lot like Morgan. Along with these memories came the knowledge of a place long destroyed, but remembered by many: Atlantis.

As their lips parted Pansy said what was on her mind “Now it makes sense.”

“You been having dreams about us too?” Hermione asked.

"Yes I have, but right now we are in a very public place with a lot of people staring at us. I suggest we get the stuff for Harry and leave." Pansy whispered this into her ear and the green-eyed girl felt a blush crawling up her cheeks.  
  


Hermione looked towards Garret. The man was standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face. “I agree, and as much as I hate this we need to get a LOT of sweets.” Hermione briefly thought of what her parents would say if they saw her doing this.

 


	6. Before and After

_The boat travelled across the storm-tossed sea as though nothing was wrong. The winds tore at the sails, but the fabric did not give. All the adults on board the vessel wept at the loss of their home, but a few wept for the loss of their heroes. A little boy sat next to his mother and watched as the adults cried for a woman who he did not know, but he did know he owed her his life. He got out of his mother’s embrace, and knelt on the floor of the ship and began to pray._

“ _Lord Zeus let them rest in peace and may Hades have vengeance on the souls that caused such sorrow. Allow us to find penance in a new home. Praise the gods.”_

_A crack of thunder sounded the gods understanding of the boy’s prayer. A change in the direction of the wind shocked everyone. As the days went by the wind pushed the boats ever onwards never letting up in their westward movement. After what felt like months of travel they came to rest on an island with no mountain, but plenty of forests. It was here that the adults turned to the boy as if he would now lead them, but he simply said: “Here we should rebuild what was lost.”_

Hermione was woken up by someone shaking her rather hard. It was Pravati, and the look on her face spoke volumes. She was scared, about what Hermione did not know, but she assumed it was her. “What is it Pravati?”

“You were talking in your sleep, and we all thought someone had cast a hex on you cause you were speaking in a language none of us has ever heard. Then Crookshanks ran off like he had been spooked by something.” The fear in her voice was palpable and almost scary in its own right.

“I am fine Pravati, and I think I will talk to someone about this." Hermione wondered if this dream like the others pertained to the past, or were the miscellaneous ramblings of a sleeping brain. ‘I need to talk to Pans.' Was her, last thoughts before going back to sleep.  
  


The following morning found Hermione out in the main courtyard sitting out in the snow with Pansy. They were both watching Rexa running around in the snow jumping from snow pile to snow pile. The brunette just sat there leaning into the raven-haired beauty for a while thinking about how to address the situation she had seen in her dream last night. It was Pansy who brought up dreams saving the Gryffindor the trouble of doing so.

“Mi did you dream of… legends last night?” The Slytherin queen asked pensively.

“If by legends you mean the survivors of Atlantis the answer is yes.” Hermione laced their fingers together.

“Do you think it was factual?”

“I think so, but until my mother gets back I don’t think we will know.”

“Where did she go?” Pansy quizzed.

“You’re full of questions today aren't you?" The green-eyed beauty stuck her tongue out at Hermione. "She went to Olympus for something pertaining to the magical world."  
  


“Are things really getting that bad?”

“I don’t know love, I just don’t know.”

The Gryffindor leant her head against her girlfriend’s chest. They remained like this for what felt like hours. Hermione could feel Pans moving around and messing with the snow and then felt her lurch forward. Opening her eyes with fright Hermione looked around for an attacker or the twins ready to prank the hell out of them. Turning to Pansy she asked, “What the hell?”

"I think we are being stalked." Pansy pointed in front of the silver-eyed teen. Looking in that direction Hermione could see Rexa crouched down and slowly approaching them.  
  


“It seems so.” Hermione scooped up some snow and formed it into a ball. “Catch girl!” she threw the snowball, and Rexa jumped and caught it in mid-air. From there it dissolved into a ruckus of snow and laughter as Rexa tried to catch the snowballs the girls were throwing at her, and the girls throwing snowballs at each other. The only thing that stopped it were the snowballs coming from the opposite side of the courtyard. Both girls turned in time to see two identical redheads toss two more snowballs.

“Fred, knock it off!” Hermione screamed.

“I’m not Fred he is.” The twin to the left said.

“No, I am not you are." The other retorted.  
  


“I don’t care who is who what do you guys want?!” Hermione was seething at this point, but Pansy was rolling around on the ground in a fit of laughter. “What you laughing at?”

“Your… hair Hermione there… is a letter…” the rest of the statement was lost in laughter.

Reaching up to feel the top of her head she felt an envelope on top of her head. She began to read the letter.

_Hey Sis,_

_Hermione mother wishes to speak with you and Pansy tomorrow night please disregard curfew. Don’t worry about the perfect patrols I will deal with them. Oh, and I will be dealing with the griffin issue as well just get me the information you find and I will be Hagrid’s advocate._

_Love,_

_Circe_

At the bottom of the letter was a smiling face charmed to repeatedly stick its tongue out at the reader. She was glad to see that her sister was willing to help them out, but she wondered about the motive behind it. While she did not fear for Hagrid, she feared most assuredly for Lucius Malfoy. That man was probably going to say something that got him turned into a pig or worse.

“What’s wrong Mi?” Pans asked.

“Circe is going to be Hagrid’s advocate.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Do you think Lucius will survive that encounter?”

“No.”

Both girls broke out in laughter, and after some explanations, they turned ten shades paler than they already were. After bidding the twins goodbye the girls went into the castle to make ready for the last trip to Hogsmeade before the holiday break. They managed to get Pansy into the Gryffindor commons without much of a hassle. She always used a deafening charm on herself so as to not hear the password. This did not change Ron’s anger that the girl was in the commons when in his opinion no Slytherin was worthy of a Gryffindor. In truth, they had to get it Okayed by Professor McGonagall first, and then Snape (much to the disdain of both girls).

They were sitting on the loveseat in front of the fireplace where they were talking about what they were going to do during the break. Pansy’s uncle wanted her to return home so they could ‘talk’. Pansy understood this to be a euphemism for a beating, and something both girls wanted her to avoid. When they noticed it was close to noon they decided they needed to get ready. Pansy need to pick up her money and Hermione needs to get Crookshanks back in her dorm. Once in the girls’ dorm area, she was stopped by Ginny.

“Hey Hermione has you noticed a change in Ron?” the ginger-haired girl quizzed.

“Besides his gradual taking away of Draco’s cronies, no I haven’t.” the thought of the once proud king of Slytherin reduced to a second fiddle part would have once brought a smile to her face, but not now. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, it is more than that. He is changing, and I am not talking about his personality. His hair and eyebrows are turning from red to black. And his eyes are going from blue to a steel grey.” Ginny sounded scared.

“What else Gin?” Hermione asked while gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Well, he keeps calling himself ‘Magnus’. I think he might be turning into a dark lord.”

Upon hearing that dreaded name Hermione’s heart sank. Apparently, it showed in her face because Ginny looked even more scared now.

“Hermione are you okay?”

“No Ginny I am not okay.” She took a deep breath. “I have to talk to my mother before we continue this conversation.” She held up her hand when the other girl went to talk. “I know it seems unfair, but trust me I do not want to tell you something that might not be the truth because if I am wrong you will hate me forever.”

“And if you’re right?” If there was a way for someone to sound optimistic and downcast Ginny just did it.

“Then Sirius Black is the least of our concerns.”

It took some doing to calm Ginny down, but after that was done she left to go talk to Pansy. This was something the ancient Atlantean spy would want to know. She ran as fast as she could to the Great Hall. She didn’t even stop to talk to Fred and George about their brother but made a mental note to do it later. Once in the Great Hall, the brunette scanned for the raven-haired girl, and her eyes fell on a frightening sight. Ron, Crabbe, Goyle, and Morgan were making threats to Pansy and Draco. She ran to the side of her girlfriend and the blonde boy.

“Look, Maggie, the heroine has arrived.” Morgan laughed.

“What’s so funny Morgan, or should I say, Maya,” Hermione tried to sound as stern as possible.

“Don’t talk to her like that glitter girl!” Ron said in the agitated voice.

“Ronald, don’t you talk to me as if…” she was cut off.

“The name is Magnus now Hermione, or don’t you remember that?” a very familiar wicked grin crawled across his face. Even though the form was slightly different that smile was not. It was the same one the ancient Magnus had worn before he went off into war or a magical duel.

She walked right up in front of the nearly raven-haired boys face. "Your hair may be turning black, but legally your name is Ronald Bilius Weasley."  
  


“For now it is my old friend.” The voice he used was deep and cold. This was not an angry Ron Weasley; it was odd watching a kind boy becoming an evil man. He turned to his followers. “Let’s go, we don’t need to be around these riff raffs.” He and Morgan turned and walked away with Crabbe and Goyle following close behind.

“What was that about Granger?” Draco spat.

"If you want to know, kick the attitude." Pansy retorted.  
  


“Follow us Draco.” Hermione with one look seemed to have conveyed the destination to the love of her life.

With only the promise of answers, Draco followed the girls down the corridor after corridor. When they got to her mother’s office Hermione knocked. The silken voice of the goddess bid them enter the room. When the door was opened they were greeted with the sight of Hecate in her true form with a balding man standing in stunned silence on the other side of her desk. Draco’s father was still trying to yell but with an odd bubble over his head, he was thankfully silent.

“Yes my daughter is something wrong?” the concern in her voice was clear for all to see.

“Yes, ma’am. Draco and Pansy just had an encounter with Ronald, who I presume is Magnus reborn.”

“What was that name?” the plump man asked.

“Magnus,” Hermione turned her gaze back to her mother, “…mother who is this?”

“Minister Fudge my dear.” Her mother snapped her fingers, and everything aside from herself, Pansy, Draco, and her mother froze. It was an odd feeling to not even hear the wind move. It sent a chill down Hermione’s spine. “So you know or should I say remember?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The girls responded as one.

“Umm Pansy, who is this woman?” Draco asked.

“She is Hecate Hermione’s mother and the goddess of magic.” Hermione took one look over at the other two men in the room. She wondered that even though time was frozen how Minister Fudge and Malfoy Senior would have taken this news. Though it was funny to see the men standing there with this staggered look on their faces.

“What did he do?” Hecate’s voice was cold.

“I did nothing your greatness.” Draco squealed.

“Not you young man,” her mother just waved a hand dismissing Draco’s comment.

Pansy then went into the explanation as to how Ron/Magnus had accosted Crabbe and Goyle from Draco's service with promises of power, and fortune for their families. Once this was done he turned to Draco trying to get the boy to swear his loyalty to him, and how she had stopped him before he did so. While the raven-haired girl told the story they all could hear the ‘wind’ finally start moving, and Hermione could only imagine what was happening outside the castle.

“And as far as I can tell he already has those in sixth and seventh year Slytherin house would have sided with Voldemort in his pocket.” Pansy finished.

“Why do you keep referring to him as Magnus Parkinson?” Draco questioned.

“Because nearly four thousand years ago the boy you know as Ronald Weasley went by that name, and caused the fall of Europe's first nation." The blonde teen's mouth fell open. "These two," the raven-haired goddess gestured to Pansy and Hermione. “…once fought against him.”

The cold silence that followed brought to Hermione’s mind the memories of the fight between herself and Magnus. It lasted four hours, and thanks to the last act of a dying Pansy Maya could do nothing to help him. Draco broke the silence.

“So is there anything I can do?” He nearly whispered.

“Convert your parent’s to Harry’s cause.” Even to the completely ignorant this quest, if that is what this was, seemed daunting.

“But they won’t turn on the dark lord so easily.” The blonde protested.

“For you Draco they will do almost anything.” She gestured to Hermione at this point. “And as for the Dark Mark, my daughter can remedy that.”

“How can I do that mother?” Hermione held her head at an angle displaying her confusion.

“You will know.” She waved her hand. “Now I suggest you three leave. I need to ‘talk’ with the minister and Mr Malfoy, and you three have a Hogsmeade visit today.” As they walked out the door Hecate said one last thing. “Yes Hermione, he is Magnus, and it is too late to stop the transformation now.” Her mother sounded heartbroken, so she said nothing in response. “Now go, I have a meeting with these two to finish.”

They nodded and walked out of the classroom. After Pansy just shut the door she turned around and hugged Hermione. She whispered in her ear “Not again.” No further explanation was a need. They had lost each other once before, and they would not do so again.

 


	7. Invisibility Cloaks, Ron, and Drama

 

Hermione, Pansy, Neville, and Draco, were walking towards Hogsmeade talking about the events of the last twelve hours. It seems that while the rest of his dorm mates were sleeping Ronald had been to the Slytherin dorms to recruit people. He tried to get Draco under his thumb, but Draco declined. In order to gain a little leverage, Morgan dropped the glamour charms that concealed her true appearance.

“So she is not a teenager?” Neville asked tentatively.

“Yes. She looked like she’s at least twenty-five-years-old or older.” The Slytherin boy said. “Most of my house buys into their testaments of power.” He snorted.

“You don’t Drake?” Pansy asked.

“No.” He pointed at Hermione and Pansy. “They said not to go get you two though. They said you would betray everyone. They all think you’re a blood traitor anyway Pansy.”

Hermione scoffed. “Aside from the fact the entire idea is a fraud; we would betray those two.”

“How do you know that?” Neville sounded sceptical.

“Should we tell him, love?” Pansy asked.

The brunette thought for a moment. “Yes, if we start keeping stuff from our friends we are no different from those two.”

With a nod from the other demigod, Hermione started to talk about the life she once lived. How Atlantis was divided, and how it fell. The players involved in Atlantean politics and of the life the two of them once shared. She pressed on through their deaths, the glimpses of that life through dreams, and of how the memories returned during the first trip to Hogsmeade.

“Wow.” The blonde said as they walked into Hogsmeade.

“So this is your second life Hermione?” Neville chirped.

“Yes, and I guess it is the same for Ron. That is if he really was Magnus and not someone his rotten soul chose to possess.” Hermione felt her girlfriend wrap an arm around her shoulders.

“He would do that?” Neville asked.

Both girls responded as one. “Yes.”

The thought of the depths of depravity Magnus would fall to in order to escape death were vast and varied. In some ways, he and Voldemort were no different, yet in others, they were total opposites. Voldemort wanted to prove the blood purity ideal. Not to mention commit the second greatest genocide in recorded history. All Magnus wanted was world domination. He did not care about a mage’s lineage so long as they served him, and if they didn’t he killed them. As she thought on the two dark lords her mind drifted back to that final fight with Magnus.

_The pounding of the surf drowned out Hecate’s screams as her love fell to the ground. She felt power flow through her body with such force at that moment. It felt like lightning was ripping through her body, and felt as if her body were splitting open like a tree so sturk. Wave after wave of energy poured off of her body. Magnus was saying something, but she didn’t hear a word he spoke. Leto was dead because of that bastard. She was going to make Magnus wish he had never been born._

_As Leto’s body hit the ground the woman beside Magnus was thrown over the dunes, and the wind knocked her old friend to his knees. He looked at Hecate as if she was an ill-behaved child. A silver light shrouded her body. With a flick of her wrist the energy that enveloped her arm extended like a whip and knocked the bronze dagger from his hand. This left him only his magic and even though he was strong he was nothing to her at this moment. Magnus could never beat her on his best day. And, this was not his best day._

_His first spell was predictable it was the Rotting Curse. She countered with a flick of her wrist sending a silver wall which nullified the spell. She could feel the ground shake and she did not know if that was the gods or her own doing. It didn’t matter to her opponent had slipped his way out of so much before, and he would not escape justice this time. Once the wall faded her next spell was a beam of pure fire hurled in his direction. He blocked with a wall of ice, and then crafted a sword made of stone and charged at her through the cloud of steam. She lurched forward crafting a sword of pure force and fire, and even though she could feel the wound on her back scream in agony she swung with all her might. As the two swords collided a shock wave sent sand skyward and pushed the sea back several feet. As the waves splashed around her feet Hecate could hear Magnus talking about how he wished she had chosen to love him instead of his half-sister. When she told him he could never measure up to Leto no matter how hard he tried the man just laughed. He told her that the gods always showed favour to him, and never once did anything for the woman who now lay lifeless on the beach. With a scream that came from the depths of her very being, Hecate showed him how wrong he was. She stepped back and swung at him again. Their blades collided once more. The sand was turning into small fragments of glass with each collision the blades made with one another. Their blades locked together once more. With one final shove, she pushed the black-haired man back a couple of feet and with one final charge swung at an opening on the man’s left side. Her blade burned through his armour and pierced clean through him._

_The sound Magnus made told a story she could not see. One she did not want to see. The man had been her friend since they were children, and now she had killed him. As he fell to his knees he cursed her and the gods for their betrayal. He tried to stand but a crashing wave knocked him once more to his knees. From where she now stood Hecate could see people running to the shore, and boats appearing out of nowhere for them. Several came over to her begging her to come with them, but she declined. She let the spell fade and felt the sword fade away. She saw Magnus’ girlfriend return only for a moment before apparating away. Hecate just started to walk towards her dead love. Falling to her knees she picked up the woman’s head and placed it in her lap. Looking inland she could see more people running to the sea, and why as well. The mountain seemed to have opened up and allowed the underworld to spew forth into the mortal world._

_A gentle hand on her left shoulder caused the brunette to look up, and her gaze met her namesake’s silver eyes. “Yes, my lady?” Her voice now sounded broken and lifeless._

“ _Will you come with me to Olympus?” the question was soft and sincere._

“ _No my lady I will remain. The one I love is dead, and there is nothing I want more than to be with her.” She looked up to see more boats form. “I will see that those who you find worthy leave the island.”_

“ _We will meet again young-mage. Of that have no doubt.” The goddess’ voice seemed to crack as she spoke those words, and then in a flash of silver, she was gone._

Hermione felt someone shaking her shoulder and looked to her left and saw a terrified-looking Pansy. Hermione scanned their surroundings and noticed they were still in Hogsmeade. Lifting an eyebrow to her girlfriend she asked: “What’s wrong?”

“You zoned out for a minute there dear. Are you all right?” Pans asked putting a hand on her forehead.

“I am fine. I was just remembering the last fight… with Magnus.” Her head hung low.

“Do you want to go back to Hogwarts?” When she shook her head Pansy replied. “Then let’s go our friends are waiting for us.”

They spent some time at Honeyduke’s chatting with an ever-growing circle of friends, Blaise and Padma had introduced them to a bunch of students from Ravenclaw. While Hermione and Neville kept introducing Pansy to more Gryffindors than the two Slytherins could count. At first Draco resisted meeting Hermione’s friends, but in the end, even he caved under peer pressure. After about an hour and thirty minutes of talking the brunette tugged on her girlfriend's sleeve and gestured to the door. As they walked out Pansy asked where they were going, but the former Atlantean noble just told her she would see when they got there. As they traversed the snow-covered landscape the Shrieking Shack came into view.

“Why are we going to the Shrieking Shack?” Pansy asked as slid in closer to the brunette.

“Just for some alone time; I would be giving you a history lesson on it, but I think it would bore you.” She leant over and kissed Pansy on the cheek.

Pansy got in front of her. “Uh-uh. That isn’t going to cut it Mi.”

“It isn’t?” Hermione leant in closer.

“No, it will not, my dear.” Pansy closed the distance between their lips.

The kiss deepened shortly after it began, and Hermione could feel the snake-like movement of the raven-haired girl’s hands to her bum, and could only smile into the kiss. When they finally broke for air Hermione leant her forehead against Pansy’s. "Trying to tell me, something love?"  
  


“Maybe,” with a gentle squeeze, Pansy conveyed her intent. “…but that is only if you want it to mean something.”

“Awe how cute,” the caustic voice of Ronald Weasley pulled the girls out of the serene moment. “… What do you think guys should we throw them in a cold shower?”

“No Magnus I say we bury them in ice,” Crabbe responded.

Both girls went for their wands as Morgan drew hers. Before they could do anything big chunk of mud hit Morgan in the face. “Who threw that?!” wailed the assailed woman.

The four interlopers looked around but could see no one. Then another mud ball came and collided with Crabbe’s face. Pansy could not stop laughing at this point and was using a fence post as leverage. Ron/Magnus was looking left and right at this point convinced that someone was responsible for this. When another mud ball, one that was a little slimy, came from their right and hit on the side of his head. Goyle pointed to a spot in the middle of the path and said: “It came from over there!” When Ron threw a mud ball and hit nothing. People started to panic. The first to depart was Crabbe and Goyle, followed by Ron and Morgan.  
  


Hermione was having a giggling fit about the entire thing. She only stopped when Pansy squealed in surprise. She saw the raven-haired girl moving around while something was tugging on her coat sleeve, and Hermione had a good idea of what that ‘something’ was. Once his invisibility cloak was removed Harry started laughing hysterically.

Once they stopped laughing Hermione asked Harry how he got out of the castle without the dementors noticing him. The answer caused her mouth to fall open. She tried to get him to turn the map over to Professor McGonagall, but he declined saying he would then also have to turn in his Invisibility Cloak as well. While annoyed she had to admit the boy had a point. Deciding to let the issue go she suggested they go to the Three Broomsticks for some refreshments, and to get out of the cold.

The teens made the hike back to the main road through Hogsmeade, and to the inn/pub that offered a respite from the cold. As they walked the trio talked about what they would be doing over the hols. Pansy said she wanted to stay (which was understandable), and Harry was going to do the same, and Hermione did not want to leave them here alone. With that decided the three entered the establishment. Once there Pansy parted ways with them to get their drinks while the other two found them a table. After Pansy returned Hermione waited to see Harry’s reaction to his first Butterbeer, and the smile that crossed his face told at least one hundred stories.

As Hermione enjoyed the butterbeer a cold breeze shot through the pub, and after looking to see who entered the establishment she panicked. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick entered the establishment. They were followed by the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Thinking quickly Hermione put one hand on Harry’s left shoulder and pushed him down. Apparently, Pansy had the same idea because of the two of them, along with Harry, was cover in butterbeer as the boy vanished under the table. Hermione cast Mobiliarbus to move the Christmas tree behind them over a few inches to further conceal Harry’s presence from the arriving professors. The sound of chairs scraping across the floor told her that was a wise idea. A few minutes later Madam Rosmertta walked up to the table next to them.

“A small gillywater-”

“Mine,” said Professor McGonagall.

“Four pints of mulled mead-”

“Ta, Rosmertta,” said Hagrid.

“A cherry syrup and soda with ice and an umbrella-”

“Mmm!” said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

“So you’ll be the red currant rum, Minister.”

“Thank you, Rosmertta, m’dear,” said Fudge’s voice. “Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won’t you? Come and join us…”

“Well, thank you very much, Minister.”

Hermione’s leg was twitching nervously, and no doubt was annoying Harry. Why hadn’t it occurred to her that this was the last weekend of the term for the professors as well? She wondered as to how long they would be here, and if they stayed here too long how they would get Harry out of here, and how they could sneak Harry back to Honeydukes if they did.

“So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?” Madam Rosmertta asked.

Hermione watched as the Minister twisted in his seat. He seemed nervous about something, and she had a good feeling what that something might be: Sirius Black. In a quiet voice, he confirmed her suspicions. “What else, m’dear, but Sirius Black. I daresay you heard what happened at the school on Halloween?”

Upon hearing this Hermione’s mind was taken back to that night. It was the first time she and Pansy had slept next to each other. While this caused some ruckus it was quelled by the fact other students were sleeping next to the ones they loved. This ended the debate with Ron, but the boy chose to sleep next to Morgon instead near Harry and Hermione. Yet this joy was overshadowed by the fact Sirius Black had been seen in the school. No doubt that information had made it all the way to Hogsmeade seeing as it had been the talk of the school for over a month now.

“I did hear a rumour,” admitted Madam Rosmertta.

“Did you tell the whole pub Hagrid,” said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.

“Do you think Black is still in the area, Minister?” whispered Madam Rosmertta.

“Yes, but it seems we were wrong as to the reason why.” There were clear and audible inhalations of air from the other table’s occupants. “I know it shocked me too when I found out. It seems that Pettigrew may not be dead.”

“Who found this out?” asked Professor Flitwick.

“I don’t know she just goes by the name Ms C.” The Minister let out a haggard breath. “She delivered an extracted memory from Dumbledore, and how she did it even he does not know, but it clearly shows Pettigrew being the one who betrayed the Potter’s.”

Hermione saw Madam Rosmertta bring a hand up to her mouth. “And to think we thought he was a hero! I always had trouble believing that Sirius would go over to the Dark Side. Oh poor Sirius, to think everyone thought he was the one who betrayed his friends.”

Hermione heard a fist hit the table. “An’ to think we all believed Crouch! The bastard’s son was a convicted Death Eater! He did not see poor Sirius the night James and Lilly were murdered!” Hagrid seemed livid.

“Oh stop it Hagrid you believed he was guilty just like the rest of us.” Professor Flitwick said.

“That’s true, but how do we know the memory is even real?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“Crouch said the same thing. He demanded Dumbledore take a truth serum to prove its validity, and against my advice, the headmaster agreed, and it was indeed the truth.” Minister Fudge sounded defeated. “And to think Barty had us all believing Black was the secret keeper.”

“Di’ ya know he is Harry Potter’s godfather?” Hagrid asked everyone at the other table.

Hermione heard a mug hit the floor, and the soft intake of air as Pansy kicked Harry.

“No, but that does not change the fact he killed all those muggles to get at Pettigrew.” Professor McGonagall said.

“Maybe not,” Fudge said with one last drink of rum. “That too has been called into question. The same Ms C has provided evidence that says Pettigrew was or is, an animagus.”

“In which case, he may still be alive," Hagrid yelled. Hermione could hear the screeching of wood moving across the floor. "If he were in this room…"  
  


“You wouldn’t know it!” Professor McGonagall yelled. “Now sit down Hagrid.”

Hermione saw the tall man sit back down. “Sorry.”

“Do we know what kind of animagus?” Madam Rosmertta asked.

“Yes, but until we catch him I can’t tell you, madam, I am sorry.”

All conversation stopped as the door swung open again. Several students ran into the pub and went straight to the professors’ table. A fifth-year Ravenclaw spoke first. "Professors hurry it is Ronald Weasley.” Her voice sounded panicked.

“What is it?” asked Hagrid.

“I don’t know, but it is making him float above the ground about a good three meters!” said a fourth-year Gryffindor.

With that said the entire table vacated the establishment. Harry wanted to follow them, but Hermione made him promise he would go back to Hogwarts, and she would fill him in later. After a quick Scourgify Hermione told Harry to get out of there. Then she and Pansy ran out of the Three Broomsticks.

It did not take them long to find the source of the commotion. Ronald Weasley was floating in the middle of the road outside of Honeydukes. His body was sending off pulses of red and blue light. With each pulse of light, there was a large gust of air that knocked anyone who got near Ron to their knees. The sound Hermione heard reminded her of the sound a UFO made in muggle movie she watched over the summer. After a few minutes of this, there was a large blast of air, and the redhead plummeted to the ground. Over a dozen students ran up to Ron, and both Professors Flitwick and McGonagall fought their way through the crowd to get to him. While Hagrid’s sheer size made the trek easy for him it still took him a couple of minutes to make to the fallen Gryffindor. Hermione and Pansy could not make it up to where the youngest Weasley boy had fallen, but from the sound coming from the crowd, it probably didn’t look too good. Over everything, Hermione could hear the wailing sounds of Morgan crying the boy’s name. Hermione saw Hagrid bend down and presumably pick Ron up off the ground. As Hagrid walked away the crowd turned to her as if to ask whether she knew what was going on, but with the shake of her head, she silenced all their questions.

Once back at the Gryffindor common room Hermione was met with a gathering of people from every grade level. There was no guesswork as to what they wanted to talk about, but she had no answers for them. Poor Harry looked like he had received the same litany of questions she was about to face. The two of them had been Ron's closest friends for the past two years. Ron's family concerned looks about them. Ginny seemed the worst out of all of them, her cheeks were red and puffy, and the tear tracks running down her face spoke volumes. What was she going to tell them? What could she tell them? It wasn’t like she could just tell them Ron was a reborn evil Atlantean. She would be laughed at by everyone else, and hated by the Weasley’s, who she loved dearly.

Percy broke the uneasy silence. “What do you know Hermione?”

“I don’t know anything Percy, and to be honest I was as stunned as all of you when I saw Ron floating in mid-air.” She had to bite her tongue to keep from cursing Magnus. “Ginny I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t.”

“Is there a way you can find out?” Ginny’s voice sounded like she was about to start crying again.

"Ginny I will do my best." She walked over to the redhead and embraced her as the girl broke down. "I swear to you I will find out what has happened to Ron and bring you answers.”

 


	8. Old Leasons New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the affiliated characters and stories are the property of J.K. Rowling. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came from the excellent mind of their owner.  
> A/N: Italics either mean internal thoughts, dream, memories, or the words of a god/goddess to a mortal mind. Underlined words are spoken in Atlantean. Please read and review.

Hermione's sleep had been fitful last night. She had repeated nightmares of Ron dying then returning to life as Magnus. Magnus would then either torture Pansy, kill her or he does… far darker things. Hermione felt sorry for the other girls in her dorm she could not count the number of time she woke up screaming. It got to the point that she just asked them to cast a silent charm on her so she would not wake them the next time she woke up screaming. Even the following morning when everyone else was packing their things to leave she was still sleeping.

Once she finally decided to get up Hermione got dressed and went to the Hospital Wing to check on Ron. Once there she found Mr and Mrs Weasley talking to Madam Pomfrey while two unknown witches checked Ron’s condition. Poor Mrs Weasley was beside herself, and Mr Weasley was doing his best to comfort her. Once Madam Pomfrey saw her she ran immediately to her and started asking the same questions everyone else had asked her the day before. Do you know of any spell that could do this? Was there anything she could do for him? Did she see what had happened to him? While the first and last questions were easy to answer the third was the hardest to answer. She had not read anything in the book her mother gave her that said she could reverse spells. That sounded to messianic in Hermione’s opinion. If she could reverse a spell she could theoretically revive Harry’s parents, or cure Neville’s. And she was doing her best not to appear like a saviour as it was. To appease the school nurse she walked over to Ron and started to scan him for curses and/or enchantments. The book her mother gave her vaguely spoke of this ability, but it seemed no different from spells that did the same thing. She could ‘sense’ magic, but knowing what spell was doing it was something else entirely. She didn’t know if she could do the latter, but if she didn’t try she was no better than Voldemort. She closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. Hermione was unsure of what the others saw, but what she felt was a flow of energy going from the core of her being to the palm of her hand. From this sensation, she could feel the magic in the room, as well as, the magic covering Ron. Yet, she could find nothing around Ron’s body that spoke of either enchantments or curses. She turned back to Madam Pomfrey and shook her head in negation. The nurse hung her head in defeat, and the unfamiliar witches started asking questions that she didn’t want to answer, but she felt compelled to do so lest she is dragged off to St. Mungo’s as well.

“You might want to sit down for this.” The brunette said calmly.

"Young lady I have been a healer for twenty years now. I don't think there is anything you could tell me that requires me to take a seat." The grey-haired woman said sternly.

“I am a daughter of the Greek goddess of magic,” Hermione said this without blinking.

Madam Pomfrey stood in front of Hermione before the woman could stun her. “Chastity she is the real deal.”

“Are you daft Pomfrey?! Such a claim is a clear sign of lunacy!” Chastity screamed.

“Then try and stun me,” Hermione said dismissing Madam Pomfrey’s attempt at talking her out of this course of action. She could see the silver trails of energy leading up to the woman, and some leading to the elderly woman standing next to Ron’s bed. She wrapped the energy within her around her like a suit of armour, and as the spells hit the ‘armour’ she wandlessly disarmed the two nurses. “Do you believe me now?”

As the women shook their heads in agreement Hermione had to only guess as to what she looked like to the others. She told the Weasley’s there was nothing she could do for Ron even being who she was and feared accidentally hurting him if she tried anything. While they said nothing the look on Mrs Weasley’s face said everything. The woman looked saddened, shocked, and terrified all at once. Mr Weasley’s expression lacked the fear but was not far off.

Hermione ran from the Hospital Wing the tears barely contained. She made a fast track to the Great Hall where she found Pansy, Harry, and Neville waiting on her. She jumped into Pansy’s arms and could hold the tears back no longer. As she cried Pansy whispered soft comfort in her ear and rubbed her back. They Gryffindor told her girlfriend what had happened and how Mr and Mrs Weasley’s faces showed the fear that lay beneath the surface. She could hear Harry and Neville talking to each other, but did not pay too much attention to the conversation. When Harry touched her shoulder she jumped in response. He said that he and Neville would go talk to the senior Weasley’s about what Hermione was, and tell them what Ron had been doing. She went to stop them, but Pansy held her in a tight embrace. Looking at her girlfriend Hermione saw the daughter of Persephone shake her head ‘no’. The two girls stayed in the Great Hall for about an hour and a half before they went to the Gryffindor commons. Once there they had to deal with a few death glares from some of the first and second year Gryffindors.

After thirty minutes she and Pansy were the only two remaining in the common room, and the only intrusion to their quiet time was the sound of the portrait opening. Harry entered the common room, and Neville stumbles in shortly thereafter. Harry trudged over to the couch adjacent to the loveseat and threw himself into it. Neville walked over and sat in the chair next to the fireplace. The four of them sat there in silence no one wanting to ask the others what they had been going through. It was Harry who finally broke the silence. “Well Mrs Weasley is in an uproar about Hermione not being able to do more, and Mr Weasley is indifferent.” He waved his hand through the air. “He said that she will calm down eventually, but said don’t expect it to be anytime soon.”

Hermione saw the look on Pansy’s face and recognised it immediately. It was the same look of abject disdain she once reserved for her. “Pans dear Mrs Weasley is just concerned about her son.”

She felt the raven-haired girl shift in her lap. "I know dear, but that is no excuse to treat someone like dirt."

“So says the former Queen of Slytherin house.” All heads turned to face the descending Morgan. “I see you remember me Leto dear.” The smirk on Morgan’s face was out-and-out evil.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Pansy to keep her from charging the ancient witch. “Leave now Morgan.”

"Awe, are you still trying to protect her Hecate?" Hermione felt Pansy struggle in her embrace. "You couldn't defeat me last time, and you know even less now a little girl." As Morgan left the common room she gave the adult version of a child sticking their tongue at someone.

As the portrait closed Pansy stood up and glared at the brunette. “What was that for Mi?!” Pansy screamed.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt Pans.” She reached out her hand only to have it swatted away.

"I could have taken her down this time!" The raven-haired girl folded her arms in front of her chest.

“Think about it for one second Pansy. She knows much more than we do right now.” She once more reached her hand out to the other girl. “We only remember using the old magic, and do not have the practical knowledge of the past.” Her girlfriend hesitated a second before nodding in agreement. “I know she hates me, but fighting her here and now would only achieve two things: One our expulsion, and two severe injuries.”

“Hermione dear I think that is supposed to be the other way around.” The Slytherin Queen said.

“She is always like that,” said the boy-who-lived. “Now will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

It dawned on Hermione that while Neville and Draco knew who, and what Morgan was, Harry did not. After reprimanding Harry for his course language Hermione began telling him of the memories she and Pansy had gained during the first trip to Hogsmeade. After he sat there absorbing the information for few minutes Harry asked how she knew this was real, and not some trick Morgan was playing. Pansy told him she had been having the dreams about her past life since she was six. Hermione thought for a moment on when she had begun having the dreams, and what caused them. She could pin down the time as mid-June, but she could not find a reason for the dreams. She could guess what caused the dreams for Pansy, but that was an unpleasant train of thought.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing with Pansy, and Harry. They were now the only three in Gryffindor tower, and the quiet was quite relaxing. They talked about class and homework, but eventually, the conversation died down, and the trio sat there enjoying the silence. When dinner rolled around the trio went down to the Great Hall together. Pansy ignored the calls for her to join the few Slytherins that remained at the school.

Since they had to meet her mother tonight Hermione planned on meeting Pansy at the Slytherin dorm entrance at 8:30. As she made her through the corridors Hermione could not shake this feeling of déjà vu. In the previous two years she, Harry, and Ron had done their ‘heroic' actions after curfew. She was even borrowing Harry's invisibility cloak so they weren't seen by a professor. As she walked around the last corner she could hear Pansy on the other side of the Wall leading to the Slytherin Commons. As the wall opened she saw Pansy giving Marcus Flint the two-fingered salute as she walked towards the brunette. The young ‘man' stared menacingly at Pansy as the door shut. Hermione dropped the hood of the invisibility cloak and kissed Pansy gently on the lips. Hermione then wrapped the invisibility cloak around Pansy.

The two began the long trek to where her mother held their lessons, and true to her word Circe had cleared the halls of the few prefects that remained at school. As they got closer to the usual meeting place the duo saw seven other people standing around a solitary woman in regal robes. Hecate was nowhere in sight.

As they drew near the group they could hear them talking in a language that sounded familiar. The words they were using sound like Atlantean, but others were completely foreign. As they drew near one of the women in the group pointed to them and said something, and all conversation stopped. The two groups just stared at one another both uncertain of the other's intent. The tension was broken when one of the men spoke first in the unfamiliar language, and then in one, they had only heard in their dreams. It shocked her a little bit that she knew the words and syntax.

“ _Are you the children of Lady Hecate and Persephone?”_ the man’s soft voice was a stark contrast from his gruff outer appearance. It was smooth and refined.

Hermione looked over at Pansy unsure of how to answer this. They were supposed to be meeting her mother here tonight, and she knew nothing of these people. Looking back to the man who asked the question she answered the question as best she could. “ _Who wants to know?_ ”

“ _The representatives of Atlantean Magical Academy,_ ” retorted one of the women.

“Well if you don’t mind could you speak English, because this language brings… memories.” Pansy spat back at the woman.

“ _Mortal Lady Leto?”_ one of the men asked, to which Pansy simply nodded.

In stunned silence, Hermione watched as the group lowered their heads and fell to their knees. The brunette didn’t know if it was out of respect because of their parents, or probably because they had once been Atlantians. The soft chuckle echoing all around told the two teenagers that the goddess of magic had finally arrived. She waved her hand dismissing at the attempted show of respect made by the unknown group. After motioning for the two teens to her side Hecate introduced the teens to the headmistress of the Atlantean Magical Academy and the accompanying professors.

Apparently, the goddess of magic realised she lost them and explained further.

"Pansy, you remember the ability you once hand to slip into the shadows?" With an affirmative nod from the raven-haired girl she continued. "Professor Dragos here teaches that ability."

A short plump man with salt and pepper hair stepped forward. “How do you do Lady Pansy.”

Hecate then went on to explain that the girls learn (or in Pansy’s case relearn) any of these abilities if they desired. Otherwise, their lessons would continue as normal. Hermione’s initial thought was that the abilities would be ‘downloaded’ into their minds. Her mother quickly told her otherwise. They would spend this evening acquiring the abilities, and their mastery would be gained, or not, on their own time.

Pansy wasted no time in asking Professor Dragos to teach her the Shadow Step ability. Hermione took her time in deciding. She did not do anything off the cuff. Well, almost anything. While the idea of being able to manipulate fire intrigued her the thought of accidentally setting a book on fire if she got angry knocked that out of the running. Water was knocked out of the running for similar reasons, and once again being a Jill-of-all-trades was not appealing either. She wanted something that would help her should Magnus truly return. The thought of Ronald brought to mind the day at the ice-cream shop, and how she froze the boy's spoon. Making her decision she walked up to Professor Frost a young woman with light brown hair and green eyes.

“Professor Frost I am interested in learning what you have to teach me.” The know-it-all tone in full swing seemed to make this woman chuckle.

“As you wish Lady Hermione, follow me.” The professor gestured to the school. “Don’t worry your headmaster has okayed this just for one night.”

While they walked back to the school the brunette talked to the Atlantean. “Why are you guys calling us ‘Lady’?”

“We know who you once were my lady. Your girlfriend as well. This is of course in addition to your lineage.” The light brown haired woman stopped in her tracks. “You two are a couple are you not?”

Hermione heard Pansy chuckled. "Yes, we are." The raven-haired girl walked over and took Hermione's hand. "Now how do you guys know all of this?"

Professor Dragos began explaining how the survivors reestablished Atlantis off the coast of Florida. The tale he told was the same as the dream she and Pansy had had a couple of days ago. As they entered a disused classroom Professor Dragos produced a sign candle and placed it on a stool before lighting it. His instructions to Pansy seemed simple enough: place magic energy in the tip of her foot, step into one of the shadows and think the word down. Within seconds the raven-haired Slytherin was gone in a cloud of thick dark smoke. A few moments later the former Slytherin Queen returned with a dark grey material in her left hand, and with on motion draped it over her shoulders. As the material sank into the core of her being Hermione watched Pansy shiver. At that moment she looked over at Professor Frost.

The woman was constructing what looked like a cloak out of ice. She was weaving magic into the ice, and as each thread of magic touched the ice it ceased melting. This gave the cloak the appearance of flowing water. Once it was finished Hermione was instructed to take it and put it on. As she touched the ‘fabric’ the brunette shivered. The material felt like a cross between linen and silk. As she draped the cloak over her shoulders she felt it slide beneath her clothes, then beneath her skin, and finally around the centre of her being. Hermione’s shivers became more pronounced, and she could feel her teeth chattering. After a few minutes of this, she got used to the cold and could feel her body warm back up.

It was not long after that that Frost began instructing her in the use of the ice that now resided at the core of her being. As Hermione began constructing a small block of ice she felt the cloak reform around her shoulders, and as she finished it remained. After the professor looked over the block of ice for any mistakes she told Hermione to dismiss the cloak. Hermione asked the woman how she supposed to do this and was informed to tie its ‘removal’ to a word of her choosing. Hermione thought on this for a few seconds. ‘Take off’ sounded to lewd, and ‘remove’ was invoking _other_ ideas. She finally settled on ‘dismiss’ as the keyword, and with one thought the cloak vanished.

After some further instruction, the two of them were allowed to leave. Hecate informed them that their studies with her would continue throughout the holos. With one final nodded the girls departed. They were too exhausted to talk, so the just leant into one another. Before long they were standing in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait, and after giving the password Hermione turned to kiss her girlfriend goodnight.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Pansy asked before she could bring their lips together.

“Why?”

“I don’t trust Flint to save his own life. Much less to keep his hands to himself.” Pansy’s voice sound haggard.

“Okay, but what if people start talking?” The Gryffindor could feel a blush crawling up her cheeks.

“Did that stop us from dating?”

“No.”

“This is no different, and I promise to keep my hands to my side of the bed.”

The brunette did not need a mirror to tell her cheeks had gone crimson. “Pansy, can you make this any more embarrassing?!”

"Yes, but I won't." The broad smile gracing the raven-haired teen's face was sexy, and a little more than inviting. As the portrait opened Hermione motioned with one finger for Pansy to follow. "Now who's using innuendos?” Pansy commented as the portrait closed.

"The young woman whom you love," Hermione said with a smile. Pansy returned the smile, and walked up to Hermione, and placed her shoulers placing wrist close to her neck. "Or so I hope," Hermione said this in a low whisper before kissing Pansy passionately. She took this moment to pour everything she could into the kiss. She could feel the energy flowing between them once again. No memories came with this kiss, but the joy the had shared for nearly a decade shone through at this moment. This more than anything felt like a continuation of where they left off over three thousand years ago.

 When they broke the kiss Pansy rested her forehead against Hermione's. They just stayed like this for what felt like hours to them just 'bathing' in the energy that flowed between them. Hermione didn't care in this moment if they had been given this bond centuries ago or if it happened a little over a month ago. This was going to be the woman she died beside as an old woman if fate permited it. When she felt Pansy kiss her once more she returned it in full messure.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the affiliated characters and stories are the property of J.K. Rowling. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came from the excellent mind of their owner.
> 
> Italics either mean internal thoughts, dream, articles in the Daily Prophet memories, or the words of a god/goddess to a mortal mind. Underlined words represent the spoken Atlantean language; this means Dreams, words of the gods to someone’s mind, and Parseltongue.

Hermione stretched as the light of the morning came streaming in through the window. Pushing aside the headache she had the Gryffindor moved to get out of bed. She felt something move next to her. “Good morning Crookshanks.”

A female voice responded. “I am not your bloody cat.”

Hermione looked over her shoulder at the Slytherin in her bed, and couldn't help but smile. The memory of what had transpired the previous night after learning from the Atlantean professors brought a deep blush to Hermione's cheeks. The conversation in the empty dorm room soon turned to snog and wandering hands. The wondering hands led to missing clothing, and finally to soft moans of passion. Just the mere memory of Pansy's naked body was enough to make the Gryffindor blush. The raven-haired girl wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck and started whispering her praise for last night's events, and this only increased the blush that was creeping over the Gryffindor's face.

The two remained like this for what felt like hours until the need to tend to bodily functions overrode the need to cuddle. As the two got dressed Hermione snuck glances over at her love, and could not help but smile at the sight before her. The school robes hid the attractiveness of the girl. Brown eyes traced over the thin frame that lay before her. She only stopped staring when she heard the other girl giggled and apologised for starring. Once they were dressed Pansy slipped out through the shadows. Once Hermione had finished her morning routine she went down to the Common room where she found one smiling Harry Potter.

The two of them sat and talked for a little bit about what they planned to do for the day, and Harry didn’t hide the fact that he knew Pansy had stayed in Hermione’s room last night. To which the brown eyed girl tried again to deny anything inappropriate had occurred. Harry just kept telling her he believed her, but the smile on his face told her he had his doubts.

After a while, they left the common room, and on their way down to the Great Hall, the Gryffindors were stopped by a woman with long blonde hair being escorted by Professor McGonagall, who didn’t look happy. The other woman looked absolutely fuming. She walked up to Hermione and pointed a finger at her and started yelling that she had somehow corrupted Pansy with ‘muggle-born filth’, and was keeping her away from her ‘true love’ Draco Malfoy. Hermione argued back that the woman had no right to put her nose where it didn’t belong. The woman seemed more focused on Pansy than she was on Hermione, and it clicked in Hermione’s head the moment the word ‘niece’ was used.

“Who are you to Pansy?” Hermione tried to hide the venom in her voice but was unsure of how successful she was.

“I am her aunt you slag.” The woman said rather vindictively.

Harry wasted no time in asking his question. “Who is your husband?”

“Jeffery Garrus, why has she been spreading more lies about him?”

Hermione didn’t wait for Harry’s response she just charged past the woman and Professor McGonagall. She heard the woman screaming at her, but she didn’t give a damn about the foul-mouthed woman all she cared about was Pansy. As she ran Hermione could see the stairwell slide out a barrier preventing her from going down. Taking one look back she could see the angry woman closing in on her, and looking to both sides gave her no peace. To her left was a brick wall, and to her right was the empty void of the stairwell. With one more look backwards Hermione decided to use an ability she had not used since her birthday a little over three months ago.

Hermione heard Professor McGonagall scream as she leapt over the side of the stairs and began to fall. Hermione tried to think of every descriptive word for flying. Her fall ceased when she thought of the phrase ‘to go up', and instantly her fall stopped. Looking up she could see the professor, Harry, and the woman running after her. She wasted no time in returning to her decent, and this time she controlled her speed. Once her feet touched the ground floor she took off in a mad dash for the dungeons. She was passing doors and students at an incredible rate but decided to tackle this little conundrum up later. Once she made the last turn she could see Jeffery Garrus screaming at a wall made of shadows, and all Hermione could do was smile. The brunette stopped her forward progress as her girlfriend emerged from the shadows and held up her hand as if to say ‘I've got this'. Pansy's uncle was yelling angrily at the raven-haired teen as if she had committed mass murder. Some of the things he was saying made Hermione want to wash his mouth out with the most putrid soap she could find.

With one phrase Pansy turned this argument from verbal to nearly physical.

“Go to Hell Uncle Jeffery.” Pansy turned on her heels and began walking towards Hermione.

The man clenched his fist and walked forward, and then stopped. He seemed to remember where he was. “You are going to lose your chance to become one of the greatest witches this world has…”

Hermione cut in at this point. The man had tortured her long enough. “I believe Morgan and Circe are in competition for that title.” Hermione spat as she drew near the middle-aged man.

“Oh and here is the whore who has misled my niece.” Mr Garrus glare at Hermione.

Pansy immediately shadow stepped in front of him. The ‘smoke' rolling off her body caused the other Slytherins to gasp. Her uncle just stood there slack-jawed, and the brunette could only guess what her girlfriends face looked like. In a matter of seconds the man's face turned sour, but before he could say anything the raven-haired girl infront of him spoke words so callously one would have thought the man kicked her puppy.

“If you ever call her that again Uncle Jeffery I will jinx you into the next century and if you are lucky someone will be there to heal you.” The Slytherin pulled the brunette close as she placed an arm around her waist. “Now leave us alone.”

“Pansy Lillian Parkinson you are making a big mistake.” The man growled.

"No, I am not. Now leave uncle I do not wish to return home with you." Even though Pansy's voice did not waiver one bit Hermione could feel her girlfriend tremble a little.

The arrival of Professor McGonagall brought a smile to the Slytherin Queen’s face. “What is going on here Ms Parkinson?”

“My uncle seems to think that I have been forced to stay here against my will.”

“It was my impression that you wished to stay.” The familiar cold voice of Professor Snape came from the doorway into the Slytherin common room.

"It is a professor, and I have no desire to leave with a man who threatens me with physical harm if I do not comply with his demands." At those words, Professor McGonagall drew her wand.

“Mr Garrus I am afraid I will have to ask you and your wife to accompany me to the Headmaster’s office, and if you do not comply I am going to stun you.” Professor McGonagall then turned to look at Pansy. “Ms Parkinson I would like to see you in one hour.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Pansy said firmly.

As both professors led Pansy's aunt and uncle away the foolish man gave a death glare to both girls as he rounded the corner. As soon as Jeffery Garrus was out of sight the raven-haired Slytherin fell to her knees. Hermione and Harry rushed to her side, and the Queen of Slytherin just started mumbling: I did it. Hermione helped her to her feet and held her close as they walked to the Great Hall.

Once they arrived in the Great Hall Hermione helped Pansy into a chair, and then took the seat next to her. They sat there in silence for a while allowing Pansy to collect her thoughts. When she stopped muttering the same thing over and over again the girl started to eat. Hermione didn’t know if this was a shock, a psychological defence mechanism, or if she was just that hungry. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to understand what was going on and proceeded to eat some eggs and bacon.

It was about midway through the meal when Pansy finally said something.

“Did I just do that?” the Slytherin said between sips of orange juice.

“Yes you did Pans, and I must say I am proud of you,” Hermione said this with a slight grin on her face.

The group talked for a bit about what had happened. Pansy moved closer to Hermione while Harry patted the raven-haired girl on the back. They listened as she told them everything her uncle had done from physically hitting her to the use of a pain inflicting spell. Pansy insisted that it was not one of the Unforgivable Curses, but in Hermione's opinion, it should be made one. Glancing at her watch the brunette informed the others that it was time to go see Professor McGonagall. Once the couple arrived at her office they knocked and waited for her to acknowledge them before opening the door.

“Enter.” As they entered the Transfigurations professor’s office they noticed an open bottle of Fire Whisky and a half empty glass. “Ah Ms Parkinson right on time, but I don’t think I asked you to be here Ms Granger.”

“I want her to be here,” Pansy said meekly.

“Very well, we just have to wait for the Aurors now.”

A few minutes later and three people wearing badges that read DMLE entered the room. The woman of the group tripped over her own two feet as she entered the room, and her hair went from a bright blue to a bright pink colour. After a quick introduction, the interview began. As Pansy started talking about the abuse she and her cousins had suffered at the hand of her uncle. Hermione felt her blood begin to boil. He would punch them for the slightest of transgressions, and for ‘more serious offences’ the aforementioned pain inflicting curses would be used.

As the interview ended the brunette noticed that the young woman who could change her hair colour could also do the same to her eyes because both were a bright red. As the group left the crimson-haired woman tripped and fell to the floor. After picking herself up her hair and cheeks were a warm pink colour once more. Looking back to Pansy she saw Professor McGonagall talking to her about an alert charm that she could use if her uncle for some god-awful reason got off the hook. After several nonverbal practices, Pansy seemed to have got the motion down, and she promised to practice it till it became second nature.

After they left Professor McGonagall’s office they rejoined Harry for a little mid-day snack seeing as neither of them actually ate any breakfast. The rest of the holiday flew by with little fanfare saved for Harry getting a new broom, a Firebolt, and riding it nonstop. Had she not heard what the minister had told the professors she might have thought it was jinxed, but given that the man was innocent she decided not to do anything about the gift. Pansy seemed a bit worried about Circe though. She said that the two times they had seen the ancient demigoddess she seemed overly happy, and this seemed to worry the young demigoddess.

It was the first day back to classes and Pansy once again brought up the issue of Circe’s over exuberance to Hermione.

“Look Pans I am not saying I don’t see it, but if she is once again turning men into pigs I think the Daily Prophet would report those disappearances.” She said as caressed girlfriend’s cheek.

“I don’t think that’s why she is happy. She seems like Crookshanks after a battle with catnip or Rexa after a good bit of stake.” Pansy placed a small kiss on Hermione’s hand before they entered the classroom. “Besides I still think she is seeing someone.”

Hermione just rolled her eyes as they took their seats next to Harry and Neville. Professor McGonagall just shook her head at the duo as they sat down. It seemed the ‘new Golden Trio’ had turned into a quartet. The Transfiguration class went smoothly enough with Draco looking over at them periodically. This made Hermione wonder how things went with his father and mother over the holidays. At best they both agreed to the help she could offer, and at worst he was disowned. The longer the class went on the more she thought about the issue, and this caused her to mess up a few times on turning her teacup into a jewel-encrusted goblet. This earned an insult from Theodore Nott which in turn caused his teacup to turn into a king cobra.

After the cobra was returned to a teacup the class was dismissed. Hermione was asked to remain by McGonagall. The professor asked if everything was okay, and when Hermione said that everything was fine. She was then dismissed once McGonagall was assured that Hermione was fine. The rest of the day’s classes went by uneventfully. By the time they got to dinner the story was that Nott had offended Hermione to such a degree that she summoned a giant anaconda to kill him. She however quickly dispelled this myth to save herself the grief of having people run in fear of her. It worked, but only just. After she finished her assignments she made ready for bed blissfully unaware of the events about to unfold.

_Hermione stood in a hallway that looked too well lit to be Hogwarts. As she traversed down the marble-floored corridor she could hear sobbing coming from the other end. She continued down the hall until she reached a pair of bronze doors emblazoned with the words: Critical Care. She passed clean through these doors without even opening them. Within this room, she could see Mrs Weasley and a bedridden Ronald. A nurse seemed to be doing some kind of physical check on his well-being._

_Mrs Weasley seemed to be begging Ron to improve and hoping that alone would make things better. As Hermione approached her the crying stopped, and the brightest witch of the age saw why. Ron’s Hair was changing to a charcoal black colour and he seemed to have a sharp intake of air. The air around him seemed to become cold, and not from natural means. Ron opened his eyes for the first time in over two weeks Ron’s eyes opened. These eyes were different though. Where Ron’s eyes were a light blue happy and jovial; these eyes were darker, and seemed to carry a look of malice to them that she had only seen on one man: Magnus the grand advisor to the queen of Atlantis._

_A cold and callous laugh left his lips. “Maya my love it worked.” At these words, the brunette could feel someone pass through her body. “Mum may I introduce to you my love: Morgan le Fey, also known as Maya le Fey.”_

_With that Mrs Weasley turned in time to see Morgan cast the stunning curse at her, and then the traitorous bitch cast the spell at the nurse. “Ah, my love it is good to hear your voice again. The way it was always meant to be.” As the two kissed it dawned on Hermione that the voice Ron now had was that of an English speaking Magnus. “Now let us get you out of here before the Aurors arrive.” Morgan helped him to his feet._

“ _Not yet, love, we have visitors.”_

_Hermione spun around to look at the now open bronze doors. There stood her mother and Circe blocking the exit. Circe did not have her wand out, but Hermione could read the expression on her face and it did not bode well for Ron. No words were traded, yet the Gryffindor could tell that if Circe and her mother were allowed to be there both of the dark mages had done something awful._

“ _Well, my reborn little brother it seems we still have not learned.” Circe spat as a cobra wrapped itself around her neck._

“ _ **Sister you have such a lack of faith in me,**_ _” Ron said as he embraced Morgan._

“ _You are no longer my brother_ _ **Ronald Weasley.**_ _Do not confuse your past for your present.” The snake hissed at him showing its defiance to his attempt at control._

“ _So even you would betray me?” Ron’s voice rose in volume._

“ _You could fight her Mr Weasley, and by the looks of things you are not ready to fight her shadow.” Hecate just laughed. “As it stands you’re but a child, and she has years on you now. Good luck with your attempts at intimidation.” With that Hermione saw both the goddess and her immortal daughter fade away in their familiar lights._

“ _Meddlesome as always.” Ron turned to his mother and looked back at Morgan. “Deal with their memories, and let us go.”_

“ _What do you mean love?” Morgan once again aimed her wand at the forgotten Weasley matron._

“ _Erase the conversation I had with her about you, and modify her memories so it seems I have always had this hair.” He walked up and kicked his mother. “That is for favouring the famous prat over me.”_

Hermione shot up in her bed covered in sweat. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could only hope that Pansy did not have the same dream she just did. The implications were horrific. As if on cue the usual puff of black smoke and the Slytherin Queen shooting into the air soothed her mind. With one finger to her mouth, she pointed to the door. With a nod, both girls walked down to the Gryffindor common room. Once there they cuddled up next to each other on the couch.

Neither of them said anything. Their minds running rampant with the memories of a past long forgotten, and the effect Magnus could have in the modern Magical World. Hermione tried to think of Magnus' original fall into darkness, but could not remember it too clearly. She asked Pansy and she just shook her head. Even though Pansy's past life was his half-sister she could not provide any more insight into his fall than Hermione could remember. They did not need to think of its aftermath that was clearly etched into their minds now.

Within a year of his embrace of darkness, Magnus corrupted the military, the council, the royal family, and urged them into war with Athens. Six months later he was helping his older brother amass a golem army to attack the city of Athena. Thousands of lives were lost because of one man’s greed and lust for a woman he could not have. No matter how much Hecate and Leto preached to people they did not seem to want to hear it until it was too late. They only prayed they did not have to do that again. They were unaware that they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading please review.


	10. News and Politics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the affiliated characters and stories are the property of J.K. Rowling. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came for the excellent mind of their owner. 
> 
> Italics mean dreams, Daily Prophet articles, thoughts, or the words of the gods in someone’s mind and this means parseltongue. The Daily Prophet article will be a combo of both italics and bold. Cheers!

_Hecate ran down the street once again late for her class with Jaltea. It had been a late night with Leto, and there were times she thought the other teen was doing this deliberately. She smiled at the conversations that brought about these late nights. Last night it was the talk of children, and even though that was impossible with them it didn't stop the spy/thief from trying. Sure she was a willing participant, but three times in one night was a bit much._

_At the moment Hecate was on her way to pick up her first magical ring. She had decided that Jill of all the ring crafters of note was the best there was. While the item would be expensive it would help in focusing her magic better than just hand gestures. Once she made it to the ring makers stall the woman seemed overjoyed to have someone named after the goddess of magic at her store. The woman was a little shorter that Hecate. She had long light brown hair and jade green eyes. After the exchange of pleasantries, the woman asked: "What ring calls to you?"_

“ _How will I know this?” Hecate asked looking down at the rings made of gold and silver._

_"Just run your hand over each ring individually, and the one that pulls itself to you is the one that is most in tune with you."_

_Hecate ran her hand over the first row of rings when one of the slightly lifted off the table. She looked at Jaltea who just shook her head. Hecate had moved her hand over all five rows (six rings each) on the left-hand side, had just started with the ones on the right when the fifth ring of the second row jumped into her hand. One look at Jaltea's smiling face confirmed her suspicions. Looking at what lay in her hand she saw a silver ring with a gold inlay. The inlay was a small snake with a dot of silver for its eye._

“ _What makes it magical?” Hecate asked._

_"The heartstring of a dragon lies in its centre. I hear people on the mainland are now using sticks and magical components to create the focus, but I like the old ways. That will be five silver, my friend."_

 

“Hermione wake up.”

The cheerful sound of Pansy’s voice rang through the dream. Finally opening her eyes found Hermione looking not for the first time this semester at her friends smiling at her and Pansy in the Gryffindor common room. Of course the last time it was Fred and George, and not the whole group (Harry, Neville, Fred, George, and Ginny). Harry had the _Daily Prophet_ in his hand.

“What is going on?” Hermione asked looking at Harry.

“Nothing, do you want the good news first or the bad news?” He had this lopsided grin on his face.

"Oh by the gods what did Ron do now?" Hermione groaned. It had been a month since she and Pansy had the mutual dream about Ron and Morgan. The day following the dream Ron had returned to school and began shoving his family away. His hair was the same colour that it had been in the shared dream she had with Pansy. The same could be said for his eyes, and they even carried the cold stare Magnus once prided himself for.

"It's not about Ron," Ginny said as she glared over at the boys' dorms.

“Then I guess the good news first.” She did not want to guess at the bad news now.

"Well, Buckbeak was cleared of all charges," Harry said his smile getting wider as he said this. "I think the judges were more afraid of your sister than Malfoy. Then there was this…" He handed her the paper.

Hermione read the special edition front page story.

_Legendary Witch ALIVE and dating a local Hero!_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Circe the legendary witch of the Mediterranean is still alive folks! No gentlemen you do not need to fear about becoming pigs anymore! She has promised to leave all men alone saved for one: Sirius Black! She will not divulge the means of her meeting of Lord Black or her immortality, but a source close to this reporter did reveal an idea of how she attained immortality. The source said she has eaten one of the ‘Apples of Immortality’! I am willing to bet that she will tell her new boyfriend Lord Black where to find this ‘tree’. (For more information on Sirius Black see page 3.)_

_That is right my loyal readers I Rita Skeeter have photographic evidence of this pairing! I was there at Sirius Black’s trial where said Immortal witch defended an innocent man. It turns out that she had evidence proving his innocence. She had somehow gotten the memories of both Albus Dumbledore and Barty Crouch Sr., and presented that as evidence! The latter of which was furious that she had somehow stolen his memories! (For information on Dumbledore see page 9 and for information on Crouch see page 7.) Mr Crouch swears that the only way she could have gotten those memories was by the use of the forbidden Imperious Curse; a claim Circe denies. When asked how she managed to retrieve the memories of one the most powerful wizards of the age Circe merely had this to say._

“ _Ma’am I have been alive for nearly five thousand years, and there is not a single person on this earth aside from Merlin, who is dead, strong enough to resist my charms.”_

_Yet when this reporter asked about the muggle hero Odysseus Circe just scoffed and said that he had divine help. While this reporter doubts that she does wonder if the ‘Apple of Immortality' is merely a Philosopher's Stone. When I asked her of this she gave me the most dreadful glare, and told me if I had nothing better to do than this I should find a new job! She is truly as cold as the stories make her out to be ladies and gentlemen! One final thing the source mentioned above told me is that she has a sister! I swear to you this while the Ministry believes that she is truly a changed woman I Rita Skeeter will not stop until I uncover the truth!_

Hermione stopped reading the article at this point. She had to breathe. Not only was her blood boiling, but her nerves were also on edge. She had read some of Rita Skeeter's work before and thought of it as tabloid trash. Now Hermione thought she was just being stupid. There was a picture of Circe and a dark-haired man in a romantic embrace, and a picture beside it of a cleaned up Sirius Black. The men in the photos looked identical.

“Is this woman insane?” Hermione quizzed when her breathing returned to normal.

“Maybe,” Pansy said this with a grin on her face. “… but that is not the bad news.”

“Then what is?” The brunette asked.

“You missed charms class.” Harry said with a hint of ‘I told you so’ in his voice.

“Oh no, and I had a feeling…” She was cut off by Pansy.

"Don't worry I have talked to Professor Flitwick and asked Greengrass for a copy of her notes."

“I don’t need notes I need practice!” Hermione whined.

"Then you, Harry, Neville, and I can practice," Pansy said as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Nope, I don't think so. You could have come and gotten me." Hermione put a finger on Pansy's lips.

The other girl started pouting. “But I would have missed class too.”

“And then speculation would have started.” Harry pitched in.

“You and Pansy,” Fred started.

“…would be given detention.” George said with a smile.

“Just think brother dear Hermione,” Fred said.

“In detention,”

“…for missing class!” They finished as one.

Hermione grabbed a pillow and hurled at Fred. “Not funny.”

The entire room broke out in laughter. Once the laughter died down Harry, Hermione, Pansy left for Slytherin dorm. Along the way, the three talked about the latest charms class. Hermione wanted to throw up when she heard about Magnus and Morgan use of the charm to profess their ‘undying love' for each other. Normally that would be cute and funny, but given the description of how close they were standing it almost sounded like a raunchy scene from a movie.

As they got near the Slytherin dorm entrance Pansy held her hand for them to wait here. When she returned Pansy was followed by a blonde girl wearing thin-framed glasses. Hermione knew that Greengrass was a blonde, but she couldn't remember her where any kind of glasses. She looked to her fellow Gryffindors for any indication as to the identity of this girl, but this was far less helpful. Neville was his usual nervous self, and Harry looked as if someone had hit him with the Confounds charm. He looked cute with his mouth a little slack and given that his eyes did not move from the blonde girl she didn't need to guess what he was thinking. She just looked back at Pansy who was smiling at the other girl.

"Shall we go, Daphne?" Pansy said with a coy smile.

Daphne removed her glasses and sure enough, the ice cold gaze fell upon the group "Of course Parkinson."

"Oh drop the act, Daphne. I did and I have never felt better." Pansy wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist.

“And look at what it has done.” The blonde pointed at two Slytherin fifth years walking past them. The two boys were glaring at Hermione.

“So I don’t think Warrington would challenge Hermione or any of her friends. He would be an idiot to do so.” The tall of the boys turned around and glared at Pansy. “What you honestly want to fight an angry demigoddess?” Warrington just kept walking. “Moron.”

"Pansy I thought we talked about this," Hermione said sternly.

"We did, but in this house, you cannot show weakness." Pansy looked down at the ground.

"But we don't need to through this information around the whole school knows it to be true," Daphne said this while looking down at the ground. "Nott's father wants to bring you before the Wizengamot Hermione."

“That’s insanity!” Pansy said.

“I know the moment it is proven they would be forced to give you a seat. I mean who the hell is going to tell a demigoddess what to do?” Daphne asked.

“Lucius Malfoy.” Harry said.

"He is an idiot," Pansy said with a huff.

“Tell us something we don’t know.” Daphne said with a smile on her face.

The group laughed as they walked to the library. The group studied for about two hours then they split into two separate conversations. Daphne and Harry seemed to want to get to know each other, and Pansy was filling in Hermione on what the Wizengamot was and how it functioned. There was one hundred seats total. Half of them were elected every time a new minister was chosen, and the other half was held by the original fifty families of the Wizengamot. If Nott went through with this insane idea then it was more than likely one of the older families would give up a seat the held in perpetuity for an extinct family line. It would more than likely be one of the ‘grey' or ‘light sided' families that gave up a held seat, and that would all be for political showmanship.

“Showmanship, what could they gain from that? It’s not like my mother could do anything on their behalf simply because I asked her to.” Hermione said in a huff.

“I know that, and so do they, but I think it would be more on the human side things. They can say they gave up a permanent seat to a ‘Muggle-born’ witch who just so happens to be a demigoddess. They look good in the eyes of the public, and anything they say goes remotely unquestioned.”

"I would refuse it," Hermione said bluntly.

“I wouldn’t recommend that.” The ethereal voice of her mother caused all four teens to jump just a little. “Relax you’re not in trouble, but I must stress to Hermione do not turn down an offered seat. It is more dangerous to do so than you think.”

“But mother I can’t be part of the government just yet I am still in school, and I have no desire to abstain from my learning for a chance a political office.” Hermione protested.

“You don’t have to Hermione,” said Daphne. “You could appoint a proxy to vote in your stead, and you can claim the seat when you graduate. It’s that simple.”

"Really?" she asked. With a nod of confirmation, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that is all a maybe. I doubt Mr Nott would do such a thing."

“He already has.” The sage voice of the headmaster rang out. “I am afraid they are requesting to meet with you Miss Granger, and my Lady I wish I could have taken this burden away from your daughter, but…”

"Think nothing of it, Albus. Demigods are the Fates I am afraid." She looked over her shoulder at Professor Dumbledore. "I am afraid that I must hand in my resignation headmaster, and the previous art teach will be returned to you for I cannot stay here any longer."

“What?” Hermione and Pansy said as one.

"I have taught you all I can, and now I must leave. From here on out you will only have each other and your group of friends to assist you, I am sorry. Circe will help when more assistance is needed, but I can no longer directly intervene unless it is an affront to the Council and gods as a whole." Hecate started turning into silver light. "Farewell, my daughter till we meet again." With that, the immense presence that was the goddess of magic left the school.

"I hate to be rude my Ladies, but I must inform you that Hermione's meeting with the Wizengamot is this Friday at ten AM." Dumbledore said with a conciliatory tone.

"Professor you do not need to call us ‘My Ladies'," Hermione said a little sad.

"I am pleased that you think that way Hermione, but being a daughter of a goddess of magic means that my respect for you is paramount and that any show of disrespect is bordering on treasonous in a sense." He said this with mirth in his voice and a smile across his face. "I will see you all later then." With that, the headmaster popped a lemon drop into his mouth and left them to their thoughts.

 


	11. A Court of Fools

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or affiliated characters, places, and things. They all belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated companies. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came for the excellent mind of their owner.

The floo network in the Ministry of Magic Atrium flared to life as Hermione Granger stepped gracefully into the storied hall. A few seconds later Professor McGonagall stepped out of the floo. Looking around the Atrium her eyes fell on the statue of ‘Magical Beings’. They made their way over to a guard station. The man behind the desk looked like he was totally bored.

“Name and business…” the man didn’t even look up from the paper.

"Jonathan Hopkins, what has happened to you?" Professor McGonagall snapped.

The man's head snapped up from the paper. "Professor, what are you doing here?"

"I am escorting Madam Granger here to level four to the Beings Division." Hermione thought that Professor McGonagall was going overboard with this young man's behaviour… maybe.

"Madam Granger?" The young man looked at Hermione. "Wand please ma'am." Hermione handed him her wand. Hopkins placed her wand on a scale in front of a small piece of parchment and quill. The quill immediately started writing, and once it stopped Hopkins tore off two pieces of parchment. "Your wand is Vinewood ten and three-quarter inches with a dragon heartstring?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione said with the utmost confidence. She felt insulted by the question though. How many witches and wizards forgot what their wand measurement and core were?

He handed her wand back. “You keep this and this piece of parchment, and I keep this.” He held up the other piece of parchment. “You know where to go professor?” McGonagall gave him this look best reserved for a rowdy child. “Right on then. Have a good day Madam.”

Professor McGonagall led her to an elevator. The moved with the crowd Hermione was half expecting buttons to be pushed, but there didn't appear to be any as the elevator moved on its own. The elevator stopped on the fourth floor and McGonagall led her to a large wrought iron door. Professor McGonagall stood there slack-jawed as Hermione walked straight through the door as if it wasn't even there.

Hermione was wondering if this bold tactic suggests by her girlfriend would stifle any doubts about her claims. When the sensation of passing through the door faded Hermione found herself staring at the Minister for Magic, a rather plump man with glasses, Professor Dumbledore, and Lucius Malfoy. She could hear someone moving behind the others but couldn’t see them as Lucius Malfoy stood in a manner that blocked her view. Three of the occupants that she could see looked stunned. Professor Dumbledore looked amused at best, and worst annoyed; though who he was annoyed with Hermione had no idea.

"How did you do this Ms Granger?" Minister Fudge asked.

"It is an ability of mine Minister Fudge," Hermione said politely.

"How is this possible." An overly sweet voice just behind Minister Fudge croaked.

Minister Fudge turned just so, and Hermione found herself staring at a squat woman who Hermione could find no better descriptive for besides toad. The woman's fluffy pink cardigan did nothing to counter the impression that she was compensating for something. "I am a sorry madam, but who are you?"

“And what business is it of yours young lady?” the woman snapped.

“Dolores this is potentially the last direct heir to Hector Dagworth-Granger’s bloodline.” The minister said calmly. The shocked look on the woman’s face was almost comical. “It is more than likely that she descends from a long line of squibs.”

Hermione gritted her teeth at this comment. “Minister I can assure you that my mother is not a squib.”

“Then what family does she descend from.” The woman demanded.

Before either Professor Dumbledore or the Minister could say something Hermione snapped back. “She doesn’t have a last name, and last time I checked humans don’t have any right to demand the full name of a goddess.”

Hermione could feel a wind whip up around her, and the papers on the desk behind the Minister were flying about like they were caught in a gale. Dolores was being pushed back so hard she almost fell on her backside. Hermione could not hear what the other occupants of the room were saying, but given the looks, on their faces, they were terrified. Hermione closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. After a few minutes, the winds calmed down to nothing but a dull breeze.

“Well that leaves little doubt as to whom your mother is my Lady, but we must still do a blood test to weed out any possibility of it being just a magical creature.” The look on Minister Fudge’s face was jovial, but his eyes held a twinge of fear. “Of course I mean no insult by that Lady Granger.”

“Right this way Hermione.” Professor Dumbledore gestured towards the desk. Hermione was certain he was trying to keep the peace in this situation. Once Hermione was standing beside him Dumbledore handed her a knife. “Simply make a small incision on the palm of your hand, and let the blood flow on to this parchment.”

Looking down at the pieces parchment Hermione noticed that the colour of one of the pages was off coloured seeing as the Lineage parchment was beige in colour and this one was almost dark beige. She pointed to it and mentioned this to the man behind the desk. He looked at it closer before checking the parchment with a spell. When the parchment emitted a dark violet colour he removed it from the stack. Lucius Malfoy looked very displeased at this point. Hermione winced as she cut into the palm of her hand. Once a few drops of blood landed on one piece of parchment another one was slide where the previous one had been. Once three drops of blood fell on this parchment Dumbledore waved his wand and Hermione watched the cut on her hand vanish. She looked at Dumbledore to find the man was smiling. He pointed down at the parchment, and Hermione's eyes went wide at that very moment. Written across the parchment was her lineage from someone called Hector Dagworth-Granger on her father's side down to herself and a lineage break down of her mother's ancestry right back to Chaos itself. Looking up at the Minister and the other ministry officials Hermione saw a look of awe gracing their faces.

“This has got to be a _joke_!” screamed Lucius Malfoy.

"I am afraid not Mr Malfoy…" stated the unknown ministry employee.

“I think there has been some mistake maybe we should use the parchment she refused to test on.” The toadish woman stated calmly, but Hermione thought she could hear a bitter tone deep within the overly sweet voice.

"Madam Umbridge that piece of parchment has been altered, and there is no way I can verify the information as accurate," The man who had removed the parchment said, "…and to be honest the colouring is a shade too dark to be real Lineage Tracking parchment."

"With that said I think there are things that we need to do." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. "If you would follow me, Ms Granger, I will take you to the changing rooms."

“Changing rooms?” Hermione asked.

"Yes this will be where your Wizengamot robes are kept, and it doubles as your office. Also within the office, there will be another test to see the relation between you and Lady Greengrass. She is the current holder of the Dagworth-Granger seat." Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I see," Hermione said in a calm voice, but on the inside, she was running around in circles wondering how this woman would react to her.

"You needn't worry Ms Granger she is not like Mr Malfoy." Professor Dumbledore led the way. "The Greengrass and Dagworth family are neutral on the issue of blood supremacy."

“I see.” She wanted to kick herself as she sounded like a broken record.

They continued to walk down to the elevators, and they took it down to the tenth floor. They walked to a small grey door a few feet away from a gigantic black one. A few paces down the hallway Dumbledore stopped and pointed to a door that now bore her name: Hermione Jean Granger. Hermione looked over at the headmaster. He just smiled back at her and gestured towards the door. As she made her way through the door she saw two people standing beside yet another Lineage Tracking parchment. The man had dark black hair and silver green eyes, and the woman had blonde hair and forest green eyes. The man was wearing dark black robes with an equally dark pointy hat.

“Lord and Lady Greengrass it is a pleasure to see you once again.” Albus said as he bowed ever so slightly to the couple.

“Professor Dumbledore there is no need for such formality, and after what I have heard it is this young lady that requires the formality.” Lady Greengrass gestured to Hermione. “The way my daughters tell it you made Draco Malfoy your lapdog.”

“That’s a bit of an overstatement ma’am. I just caused Draco to go from a self-righteous git to a sensible young man.” Hermione said with a smile on her face.

"Well let's just hope it lasts." Lord Greengrass said with a slightly jovial tone to his voice. His face showed he had his doubts.

"Well, shall we get started?" Lady Greengrass asked looking between Hermione and Professor Dumbledore.

"Of course," said Professor Dumbledore.

Again they did the blood test this time with Hermione and Lady Greengrass placing their blood on the same piece of parchment. This time it showed her relation to Lady Greengrass. Lady Greengrass had descended from a niece of Hector Dagworth-Granger, and Hermione descended from his son who was listed as a squib.

"Well, it seems we do have something that rightly belongs to you Lady Granger." Lord Greengrass pulled out a small round badge with a vial and book engraved upon its surface. "It is with great honour that I return the seal to its rightful owner. And before you ask it has been part of my family intend to return the title to your family should they return to us." The smile on the woman's face seemed genuine, and Hermione couldn't find any waver in her voice.

"Thank you Lady Greengrass, and if there is anything I can do in return just let me know," Hermione said with a smile on her face.

“Well there is a vote today that you could help with a vote that is going to be brought before the Wizengamot today, and I think the Professor here would agree with my stance on the issue.” Lord Greengrass said with a sombre look on his face.

“I think you need to explain your view on it Lady Granger Lord Greengrass.” Professor Dumbledore said with a slight smile on his face.

"Of course, I am against the bloody thing. Given its very nature, I think she will be against as well, but I am just wanting her to know that in us." He gestured between himself and his wife. The look on Lady Greengrass' face made Hermione worried about what the law that was going to be brought up for a vote was about. "She can find allies, and once school lets out I am more than willing to teach her what she needs to know about the Wizengamot."

“Let us leave Lady Granger to get dressed, and just so you know my Lady your robes are in the closet over there, and your family seal is to be placed on the right-hand side of your robes.”

Hermione nodded her head, and the others left the room. She opened the closet and took out the plum coloured robes and hat, and began to change. Once she was in her new attire she put her school robes away and locked the closet with a sealing charm taught to her by her mum before she left the room. As she walked behind Lord Greengrass she began to wonder when she started calling Hecate ‘mum' she still thought of the woman who raised her as ‘mum', but she also had the woman/goddess who gave birth to her, and didn't that deserve the same respect?

She listened intently as Lord Greengrass talked about the usual humdrum behaviour of the Wizengamot, and that the introduction of new members would precede any discussion on new bills, and she should expect the Minister to parade the fact that he is elevating a ‘muggle-born' to a half-blood status due to her squib ancestry. He looked over his shoulder and said: "If you want to scoff at this it is alright Fudge has always been a pompous fool."

Once inside the room, Hermione's breath was taken away. Reading about the room where the Wizengamot met was one thing, but to actually see it was another. Looking around she could see people in purple robes sitting just below those in black robes. Dumbledore was seated in a seat just above and behind the Minister himself. Cornelius Fudge was seated next to the toadish woman, and a woman wearing a monocle who seemed capable of making Percy fall silent with just a glance was seated to his right. Directly across from Hermione and Lord Greengrass sat Lucius Malfoy and a group of men who seemed to be right out of the villain casting list for the next James Bond movie. Hermione was certain that if she so much as shook their hand she would need to bathe for a week straight just to get the slime off her hand.

The banging of a gavel brought her attention back to the Minister.

“The 105th meeting of the Wizengamot is now called to order.” Minister Fudge said imperiously. “Before we get to the laws that are to be debated today I would like to bring to this body’s attention the fact that we have found the last remaining heir of Hector Dagworth-Granger bloodline. If the Lady Granger would please stand up?” asked the Minister with a rather large smile on his face. Hermione stood up to a smattering of whispers shooting around the room. “It is with great honour that we welcome your family back into the Wizarding world.”

"Thank you, Minister Fudge." Hermione could feel this incredible tension in the air, and she felt that it had something to do with the unspoken truths about her bloodline.

“It is also with great pride that I correct the unjust classification you have fallen under to its true nature Lady Ganger. From this moment forward you will no longer have to fill in that you’re a Muggle-born. You are by definition a half-blood, and may register as such.” The Minister said with a serious look upon his face.

“Of course Minister Fudge,” Hermione tried to keep a straight face, but she could feel the corners of her mouth twinge just a bit.

After that, the court moved onto the most recent bill brought before it by Lucius Malfoy. It seemed so weighted down with blood supremacy that Hermione felt like throwing up at that moment. Looking around the room she saw that a number of the members of the Wizengamot were nodding their heads in agreement, but the vast majority of the court looked as disgusted as she felt. When it came down to the vote it wasn't even close. Eighty-five voted against it, fifteen voted for it, and there only five that abstained from voting. The next three bills were on taxes and fines for companies dealing with muggles.

After that, there were a little heads up as to what would be occurring in the next session of the Wizengamot on June 29 th , and then the court was dismissed. Lord Greengrass started introducing a few of his allies: Amos Diggory, Nicolas Hothelbert, Daniel Tessleberth, and David Tessermok. The men were wanting to know if the things their children were telling them were true, and with much trepidation, Hermione confirmed the truth of it all, and out of all the versions Mr Diggory's was the closest to the truth. She had met Cedric after the horrible quidditch match that caused Harry to fall an untold number of feet and caused him to lose his precious Nimbus 2000.

Once back in her dressing room she found the remains of someone’s frozen fingers stuck to the door of her closet. Hermione cast the dispelling charm revealing a young man lying in the corner frozen solid. Stepping outside she found Professor Dumbledore waiting for her.

“Lady Granger I do believe that you are still required to wear your uniform back at Hogwarts.” The headmaster said calmly.

“I am Professor but it seems that taking the precaution of protecting my belongings was quite right.” She gestured to her dressing room.

After looking into the room Professor Dumbledore turned back to her. “Is he dead Hermione?”

"No sir just he's frozen in a form of stasis. Pansy and I talked about things I might need to do. Among them was the use of a few spells that only she and I can cast to protect my belongings." She pointed at the ruin that graced the closet door. "A simple melting charm should free him."

"I see." Dumbledore waved his wand a majestic bird flew off the tip of his wand. "I have just sent a message to Madam Bones and asked her to bring a few Aurors to arrest this young man. Maybe we should wait for them to get here before waking him."

Hermione looked at the Professor and nodded. They only waited for a few moments before the authorities arrived. With a series of pops, the woman with the monocle stood before them along with two other females, the pink haired woman from Pansy's abuse statement was one of them. After removing the young man's fingers from her closet door one of the Aurors thawed his entire body, and the scream the young man gave out was blood-curdling. He was quickly stunned, and then checked for any forms of contraband. Once they were certain all the things in his pockets were removed they woke him up.

“AHHHH!” The young man looked quickly around the room. He moved quickly for where his wand once was. The Auror with pink hair held up his wand. “Damn.”

"Damn indeed, young man." The woman with the monocle looked displeased with the term. "Now may I ask what you are doing in Lady Granger's private office, and to another point: what are you doing in the private area of the Wizengamot?"

“I don’t remember anything madam. I think I was under the Imperious Curse.” He said swiftly.

"Unlikely young man, since the first thing you did, after screaming, was start searching for your wand." The woman with the monocle said sternly.

“I will say no more until I get my solicitor.” He said.

“I am afraid you will have to wait on that seeing as you still need to be processed into the system.” The Auror with pink hair said in almost a whimsical tone.

As they escorted the young man out of her office Hermione was informed that a locking charm on the door itself would be permissible so long as it was not outlawed. Once she was back in her school uniform she was informed of the people she could use as her proxy. They ranged from a family member (so long as they were magical), the Greengrasses since they had been voting the Dagworth-Granger vote for many years now, and or another member of the court so long as Hermione felt they would in accordance to she herself would vote. The thought of Circe voting for her was absolutely frightening, so she decided to allow Lord Greengrass to vote for her until she was done with Hogwarts.

Insert line

It had been two weeks since her first trip to the Ministry, and Hermione was looking forward to two things: the summer break, and the prospect of having Pansy visit for the first two weeks of summer break. She and Pansy had been discussing what they were going to do for the summer, and Pansy showed a severe disdain at the thought of going home. The group of friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table going over their plans for the summer. Harry seemed dejected at something, and during lunch, Pansy was the first to approach the topic.

“What’s wrong Harry?” asked Hermione concern laced within her voice.

"I still have to go back to my relatives for at least part of the summer," Harry grumbled. "I don't understand why Professor Dumbledore wants me to stay in that ungodly place."

“What do you mean you have to go back to the people who hate you?” Pansy asked the concern in her voice did not appear as concealed as the girl hoped it would be.

“What makes you think they hate him?” asked Neville.

“Well whenever Harry talks about them,” Pansy looked Harry right in the eyes at this point, “he speaks of them with a level of disdain that I feel towards my uncle.”

Hermione's head snapped in Harry's direction. "Please tell me they don't abuse you like that bag of filthy abuses, Pansy." Hermione said tersely.

“No they don’t, and before you ask; no it’s not worse than that either if they abused me in that manner I would be in jail for murder.” Harry said pointedly.

"Okay, okay, but you shouldn't let them mistreat you, Harry." Hermione persisted.

“What am I supposed to do? Tell them I am the godson of a wrongly convicted man?” Harry spat back after swallowing a piece of his lamb chop.

"No, you need to go to the authorities," Hermione said.

“Or you could tell them your godfather is in love with a legendary witch.” Pansy said smirking. “Oh, and don’t leave out her name.”

“So you want me,” Harry pointed to his chest, “to tell them my godfather is dating a living legend?”

"Yes," Pansy said before taking the final bite of her sirloin steak.

The leaving feast was the hardest thing for Hermione to do this year. She and Pansy had been having meals together since the start of October, and now having to sit with their houses and only being able to look at one another was torture. ‘This should be outlawed or something.’ Hermione thought. The only good thing was the news that Morgan would not be returning next year.

Pravati leaned over to her and whispered “I’m glad she’s leaving. I’m telling you she’s not normal.”

“You can say that again.” Hermione said with a hint of worry in her voice.

Insert line

Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express with a smile on her face. The news of Morgana’s departure was nothing compared to the letter she got late last night from her parents saying that Pansy could stay with them for at least two weeks. The words ‘ _at least’_ being used gave her hope that they understood her fears about Pansy even going home for the summer break.

She was the last to enter the compartment. Once she sat down Pans sat next to her. Harry and Daphne were sitting on the opposite the other pair; while poor Neville sat on the other side of Harry. As the train started to move Hermione decided to fill in the group on her decision about her classes.

“I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before breakfast. I’ve decided to drop Muggle Studies.” She said calmly.

“What, but you passed that class with flying colours.” Harry protested.

“I know, but without Muggle Studies, Divination, and I’m sorry Pans, but Magical Art as well. I can at least get back to a normal schedule.” Pansy nodded in understand.

"You did pass the class, but unlike your other courses you didn't score three hundred and thirty per cent." Pansy leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you dearest, but you are no Rembrandt."

“Who’s Rembrandt?” asked Neville.

“He’s a muggle artist who lived in the sixteen hundreds, and he was damn good at what he did.” Pansy got a wistful look in her eyes for a moment. “Anyway who else is ditching that god awful Divinations class?”

“I might, given that Ron is no longer the person I remember.” Harry said glumly.

“You should take Arithmancy or Ancient Runes Harry. I think you would do well in either course.” Hermione said curtly.

“I would stay the hell away from Magnus if I were you,” said Daphne concern clear in her voice. “He has such a careless attitude towards death that I think he is our new Dark Lord.”

"Oh he is not a new Dark Lord; in fact, this is his second chance to..." At that moment the compartment door slid open. Standing there in the doorway was the very person they were discussing. "Speak of the Devil and he appears." Pansy said coldly.

“Such harsh words for an old friend _Leto,_ ” Magnus said maliciously.

“Get OUT!” Hermione spat back.

“Well I hope you don’t miss me too much over the summer Hecate,” Magnus said sarcastically, “because we _will_ see each other soon enough." And with that, he closed the door.

“Why does he keep calling you by those names?” Neville asked.

“Because those _were_ our names back then, and his dumb arse refuses to acknowledge that we have new names and that one of those names just happens to belong to my mother." Hermione said sternly. "And back to Pansy's point, Magnus caused the fall of Atlantis."

"Oh, so it's okay for you to use foul language but not us?" Harry quizzed as he pointed to himself and Pansy.

"Yes," Hermione said with a smile on her face.

"It's okay let him be stuck in the past," Pansy said changing the topic. "We'll just live our lives and pray he forgets about us." Pansy kissed Hermione lightly on the lips. "Speaking of the past what did you do with the Time Turner?"

"I gave it back, and be for you say anything Professor McGonagall put it in a safe." Pansy's mouth fell open, and before she disappears in a cloud of ‘smoke' Hermione added, "She placed it in a safe don't even think about it."

“Damn, fine, but you shouldn’t have done that.” Pansy said crossing her arms.

“Why because it gives us time to play?” cooed Hermione. “No dear it would only get us in trouble at home.”

“Says you,” Pansy said but Hermione could see a smile tugging at the corner lips.

They fell into quiet repose. Pansy was cuddled up next to Hermione, while Daphne was whispering something into Harry’s ear that was making the poor boy blush, and Neville was reading a book on Middle Eastern plants. Hermione heard a tapping noise off to her right, and looking out the wind she noticed a small grey object banging at Harry’s window. “Harry,” she said. “What’s that thing outside your wind?”

Harry peered out the glass for a moment. He seemed to be squinting at the object. Harry moved to the window and opened it. He stretched out his arm and snatched a small grey owl out of the air. Once the window was closed Harry released the owl which started zooming around the compartment apparently very happy that it achieved its task.

Harry bent down and picked up a piece of parchment off the ground. “It’s from Sirius!”

“What!” the girls screamed. Daphne looked a little worried. Sure she knew the man was innocent, but she feared what all that time spent in Azkaban had done to his mind, hell they all did.

Harry laughed a little bit. “Like I said it is a letter from Sirius.”

"Read it out loud then Harry," Neville said chuckling. "There can't be anything too scandalous in there."

"I don't know about that he's dating my sister," Hermione said a bit warily.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this note finds you well. I also hope it finds you before you reach Platform 9 ¾. Circe and I will be there to meet you and don't worry, I will have a few_ _**words** _ _with your aunt and uncle about your care and treatment during your month-long stay there._

_To brighter news, I have found a home in London that I think you might like. I thought you might also like to know that if Arthur Weasley can pull it off we might be going with him and his family to the Quidditch World Cup! Speaking of Quidditch I have seen you play Harry, and I must say you fly better than your Father or I ever did._

_I hope you’re enjoying the Firebolt I got you-_

“I knew it!” said Hermione triumphantly. Everyone turned to look at her. “Sorry.” She could feel the warmth flooding off her cheeks.

_Circe took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather._

_And I must apologize for the fright I must have caused you that night you inflated that whore Marge Dursley. I can explain more when you get to our new home and don't worry all will be explained in due time. Tell your friends I said hello, and try to stay out of trouble for two weeks… Gods I feel old._

_Sirius_

_P.S. The owl can go to whichever one of the Weasley boys lost that rat._

Hermione looked at the small owl still zooming around the compartment. “Give it to Ginny or one of the twins. I don’t fancy the idea of giving Ronald anything.”

“Sure thing, and to be honest I’d hate to think of the people Ron would write to.” Harry snatched the small grey owl out of the air. “Come on you, calm down.” With that Harry left the compartment.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Once in the station, Hermione noticed Ronald and Morgana walking off together towards a man and woman who appeared to be expecting them. Mrs Weasley tried to stop Ronald, but he just pushed her away. By the time the others got to Mrs Weasley the couple had Disapparated. The Weasley clan looked thunderstruck.

Mrs Weasley turned to Hermione. "What happened to my SON?" she demanded.

Hermione could feel the rage building inside of her and tried to bite it back as she responded. "He gave into a past life, and before you ask no it wasn't a pleasant one, and there is no way that I know of to undo this."

"Mrs Weasley, while Hermione may be special she is no goddess, and after seeing Ron's spiral out of control I don't there is anything she can do." Harry said soothingly. "Besides it seems that Ronald and his ‘beloved' hate Hermione with a passion."

"What?" Mrs Weasley asked.

It was then that Daphne and Pansy filled her in on what had been going on in Slytherin dorm during the second half of the school year. As they told this tale Hermione watched as the colour drained from Mrs Weasley's face. Percy took his mum to a small bench and began talking her.

At that moment a man with a long black hair that ended at his shoulders, a nicely trimmed moustache, and eyes that carried the proof he had stayed too long near things that shouldn't even be on this earth. Yet through all the hell he had been through Sirius Black could still smile, and whether that was because he was now a free man, or whether it was because he now had an immortal demigoddess hanging off his arm was up for debate.

"Hello," Sirius said a bit timidly.

"Hello." Harry parroted back. He looked over at Circe and could stop the smile that crawled across his face. "You haven't corrupted him too badly I hope?"

Hermione breathed in sharply. “Harry!”

“If our mother didn’t like you so much Harry you would be a pig, you know that don’t you?” the smile on her sister’s face was somewhere between mischievous and sinister.

The raven-haired boy gulped, but the smile never left his face. "Good to know I have some protection from your ‘good graces'."

There was a barking laugh that left Sirius. “Harry you are almost asking for it now.” The man looked Harry in the eyes at this point. “God you look so much like your father, but you have-”

“My mother’s eyes, yeah I know. I get that a lot.” Harry formed a lopsided smile.

Hermione took that moment to look over at Pansy. She was talking to a man with long sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Apparently, the only thing she inherited from her father was the slightly pugish face that Hermione found so cute. Granted that feature had started to diminish the older Pansy got. The man was dressed in a pinstriped suit. The woman standing next him was dressed in a very elegant black dress that seemed to blend in with her dark black hair. She had seen them just before the start of Fall Term last year but didn't give them much thought. Pansy seemed to be fidgeting, and Hermione thought she knew why.

“Daddy I would like to introduce you to my _girlfriend_ Hermione.” Pansy gestured to Hermione, and the brunet without even giving it a second thought wrapped her arm around Pansy’s waist.

“So this is Hermione Granger?” Pansy nodded in agreement. The man extended his hand. “It is an honour to finally meet you.”

Hermione shook his hand. “I take her uncle is not here today?”

"No, we told him we would bring Pansy back." Hermione growled low at this statement. "We, however, have no intention of bringing her home."

“Please tell me she is not going to staying with that bastard!” Hermione growled.

"We will try our best, but we would like to talk to your parents about staying for the first week of summer holiday." Mrs Parkinson said with a slight smile.

Hermione only nodded her head as she and Pansy followed the Weasley's and Harry outside into the muggle portion of Kings Cross Station. Once there she found Circe and Sirius standing in front of a rather heavyset man with a large moustache. His face was completely pale as if he was terrified of something or someone. Truth be told, Hermione was glad someone, her sister probably, had scared the man senseless.

The man looked over at Harry, and for the briefest moment, his face went puce. When Sirius hit him on the shoulder the obtuse man's gaze softened, and the colouring of his face returned to normal in blotchy patches. Sirius leaned in and whispered something to the man. Hermione wanted to laugh as a look of absolute dread spread across the man's face.

Sirius turned to look at Harry. “So Harry this is your _uncle_ is it?”

“Yes sir it-” Harry was interrupted.

"None of this ‘sir' business Harry, it's just Sirius or Padfoot understand?" Sirius said with a gleeful smile on his face. Just behind Hermione, there were two resounding ‘thuds' as Fred and George fainted.

“Got it,” the smile on Harry’s face was damn near infectious.

“Now I don’t know why you have to return to these people Harry, but I will be checking in on you from time to time, and if all goes well-” Sirius was interrupted by a revived Fred and George.

“You will be-” Fred said.

“Coming with us-” George chided.

"…to the Quidditch World Cup!" The finished as one.

"And you won't be alone. Hermione you're invited to." Mr Weasley said with a smile. "Of course you are welcome as well Pansy. That is if your parents don't already have tickets." Arthur was looking right at the Parkinsons.

“No we don’t, and I think it would be safer if she went with you anyway.” Pansy’s mum said.

Mr and Mrs Weasley said nothing, but Hermione could tell that the sentence disturbed them a little. Hermione took this moment of silence to look for her mum and dad. She found them standing where they usually stood near platforms seven and eight. Mr Parkinson was talking to her father, and given the look on her mum's face whatever he was telling him couldn't be good. Something he said caused her mum to look right at Pansy and make a mad dash in their direction.

“Pansy dear would you like to stay with us over the summer holiday?” Her mum asked with baited breath.

“I would love that ma’am, but I don’t want to impose on-” Pansy was cut off by Hermione’s father.

"You wouldn't be imposing on us at all, Pansy, and to be honest I wouldn't be much of a man if I let you go into a situation that might cause you injury." Hermione's father looked over at Mr Parkinson. "Are you sure he would kill her?"

Pansy placed a hand on Hermione’s shoulder to stop her from speaking out. Hermione decided to heed her girlfriend for the moment. Although on the inside she was fuming.

“Yes.” Pansy’s father said looking at the ground. “Even knowing who her mother really is didn’t stop his tirade, and I feel that it would be safer for her to stay with her… girlfriend.”

“That and the fact she is weaker in the summer means she needs protecting.” Hermione pointed out. Her girlfriend hit her on the arm. “So Pansy’s staying with us?”

"Yes." Her father said with a smile. "On the condition that you two don't get into too much trouble."

“DAAAD!” Hermione whined at everyone else’s expense.

With that everyone started parting ways. Pansy’s parents left shortly after Circe and Sirius, and Harry and his uncle left almost immediately after that. The look of absolute horror may have left the man’s face, but looking into the man’s eyes Hermione could see traces of it within the man’s eyes. As Hermione walked past him she could feel the man’s eyes rake over her body. Turning around she saw Harry glaring at his uncle, but the man had his eyes glued to Hermione.

"Come on Mi," Pansy called out.

“On my way,” Hermione called back.

The car ride back home was fun as Pansy was entranced by muggle wireless. She was in amazement at the diversity of music and seemed to take a liking to jazz something her father was overjoyed with. Crookshanks' tail was swishing in time to the music and seemed to be annoyed when the music stopped.

"I think he wants the wireless back on," Pansy said scratching Crookshanks behind the ears.

"Come let's go inside," Hermione said leaning over and kissing Pansy lightly on her lips.

 


	12. Demigoddesses and Dursleys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or affiliated characters, places, and things. They all belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated companies. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came for the excellent mind of their owner.
> 
> A/N: I want to remind everyone that I have moved the timeline of the series ahead one decade so Hermione was born in 1989 instead of 1979 so the year is 2004. Italics represent letters and/or mental communications with the gods or dreams, and/or words spoken in Atlantian. Keep the reviews coming please! Cheers! I am also editing previous chapters.

 

_Hermione- Dad got the tickets to the World Cup! We will be picking you up this Saturday! Mum and Dad have written to your parents telling them about the World Cup, and asking for their permission, but after having talked with them last year I cannot see them saying no to you going. So we’ll be there to pick at 5 o’clock tomorrow. Let us know what they say as soon as possible Hermione. Oh and we have enough tickets for Pans to come too, so don’t worry about it._

_P.S. Please forgive Pigwidgeon for his rambunctiousness._

_Ginny_

Hermione placed the letter back on her desk. She looked over at her trunk seeing that all her clothes were nicely folded and placed with her trunk. This made her think of the shopping trip she and her mum had done to bring Pansy’s clothes into the modern age. It had surprised Hermione when she saw that Pansy’s clothes were straight of the eighteen hundreds. Hermione and her mum had spent a wonderful afternoon buying clothes for themselves and Pansy. Pansy seemed to spend an exorbitant amount of time one formal wear and swimwear, in particular, bikinis. The latter of these two things left Hermione a little… distracted. Her mother seemed to enjoy seeing Hermione fidget during this whole ordeal, and Pansy seemed to enjoy seeing her girlfriend turn six shades of red.

A knock on the door brought Hermione out of her memories. “Come in.”

“Mi, do you have your stuff together?” Pansy asked as she poked her head through the doorway.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Of course I do.”

Pansy sauntered over to her and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Well, then I guess that gives us time to cuddle then doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it does.” Hermione leaned forward, “I require a kiss first though.”

“Oh is that so?” Pansy quizzed before her lips met hers.

Hermione felt Pansy’s tongue brush across her lips begging for entrance. Hermione kept telling herself ‘Mum and dad are home, Mum and dad are home’ as she felt a strong urge to snog Pansy silly. It wasn’t long however before she found herself lying flat on her back lips pressed firmly against Pansy’s. This wasn’t the first time Pansy had snuck up on her and in response, Hermione had started an unabashed snogfest. Hermione didn’t mind them, but she did not want her mum or dad to walk in the front door to find their ‘innocent’ little girl in an intimate situation with her girlfriend.

As if those thoughts were a self-fulfilling prophecy a cough from the doorway caught their attention. They break apart long before the need for air kicked in. Her mum was standing there with a smile on her face while her father looked a little green.

“And we’re letting you two wonder off to a sporting event with people we barely know, and you will be spending the rest of the summer there.” Her mum had a Cheshire cat grin on her face at the moment. “I am being to wonder if I should be expecting a grandchild any day now.”

“Mrs G that is a bit impossible,” Pansy said shifting around.

“True enough, but it seems anything is possible with magic.” Her mum looked between both girls. “In addition, her father and I could work on giving her a little brother or sister.” Hermione’s mum wrapped her arms around her father.

“Mum I don’t need to know that!” A shiver ran down her spine at the mere thought of her parents doing the ‘horizontal dance’.

“Don’t you want a little brother or sister?” her father asked.

“I wouldn’t mind one, but it is the act that precedes it that I don’t want to think about.” Pansy was at the moment laughing hysterically. “That’s not helping Pans!”

“What can I say other than: have fun with it all Mr and Mrs G,” Pansy said as she ducked into the hallway.

“Pansy!” whined Hermione.

XoXoXoXoX

_Hecate was pacing through her manor. It had been a couple of weeks since she had heard from Leto, and she was worried about her. The last that she had heard was that Leto was going to spy on Magnus and Myra (a woman who had his ear). It was supposed to be a simple observe and report mission, but that must have gone sideways from the word go. It was weird that she hadn’t sent her usual missives the past couple of weeks. Even if she couldn’t tell her what she was doing Leto let Hecate know she was fine at least. She was starting to worry that she had lost her love to the madness that Magnus was stirring up within the army._

_The popping sound of someone apparating into her den snapped her out of thoughts. She ran to the usual apparating point of her love, and what she found there made her heart fall into her stomach. Leto was stumbling over to the sofa short her clothing and bleeding from different parts of her body. Hecate ran over to Leto and did a few health checking charms. She needed blood-replenishing potion in addition to other healing potions. Hecate activated the wards that her father put in place when she first bought the place. Once the wards were up she ran to her medical cupboard to retrieve the six potions needed to save Leto’s life. The first potion she gave her was the blood-replenishing potion, followed by a calming draught, and then last was a bone knitting draught._

_Once that was done Hecate did some more extensive examination charms. She found that she had suffered several curses she didn’t know how to fix. Others like a blindness charm were easily countered. She would have to get a healer here as soon as possible, and given the people, Magnus knew she didn’t want to risk just taking her to the temple. She told Leto she would be right back, and she went to send a crystal message to Andrea and Damian the only healers that would keep Leto’s condition out of Magnus’ ear for as long as humanly possible._

_Hecate went back to Leto and found her crying on the couch. She walked up to Leto and tapped her on her shoulder. The woman jumped just a little, but once she realized it was Leto launched herself at Hecate._

“ _When was the first time we made love?” Leto asked between sobs._

_This question threw her for a loop, but Hecate answered honestly. “It was three weeks after we started seeing each other. Why do you ask?”_

“ _They tricked me. I thought they were you. I don’t know how they did it, but they looked like you, and I mean exactly like you. While they did this they used a curse I’ve never encountered before. It felt as though they were sending a thousand knives through my body.”_

_The sobs were getting worse as each word left Leto’s mouth. Hecate couldn’t ask any more about what happened as Andrea and Damian arrived at that moment. They ushered her off to the side and started casting spells she only knew by name. After one spell both healers looked at one another. Andrea knelt down and started talking to Leto while Damian walked over to Hecate and started talking in a whisper._

“ _Did she tell you what happened to her?” Damian’s green eyes carried a look of worry and sadness within them._

“ _Not much, they somehow managed to look like me in some way and tortured her with spells. Why? What did you find out?”_

“ _She’s pregnant,” Damian said with a tone of sorrow._

_If Damian was going to say anything else it was lost as Hecate ran to Leto’s side. She wrapped her arms around Leto and began weeping alongside her love._

XoXoXoXoX

Harry Potter awoke with cold sweat running down his face. He was used to seeing Voldemort in his dreams, but not women in varying states of distress. One of them looked like Daphne, and the other two without question were Hermione and Pansy’s past lives given the names and the way they looked. Harry was wondering why it was him dreaming of this event instead of those two. Was he like Hermione and Pansy? Nah, that was not possible.

Harry reached over and retrieved his glasses. He looked around his room to see if Pansy had ‘shadow stepped’ in and was playing some kind of prank on him or something. He couldn’t see the raven-haired girl anywhere. He got up and made his way to the window. Looking out onto Privet driver revealed nothing more than a normal suburban street at about five thirty in the morning. He turned his gaze once more to the letter on his desk. He grabbed the letter and read it once more.

_Harry,_

_That dream is quite disturbing. Keep me informed of anymore like it ok? On a lighter note: have you heard any more from Daphne lately? Maybe she might want to come over and snuggle with you a little… in bed. In all seriousness how is everything going over at the Dursleys if they are mistreating you let me know immediately and I will come and get you right away. Circe says hello. We will see you at the Quidditch World Cup Harry._

_Sirius_

A clicking from Hedwig’s cage turned Harry’s attention to his owl. He walked over and petted his owl. He didn’t want to cause a scene later on when the Weasleys came to pick him up so he took Hedwig over to his wind. “Do you think you can get over to the Weasleys girl?” He asked, and the look he received was one of annoyance. “Stupid question I know. I’ll be there later on okay?” Hedwig nipped at his finger a little harder than normal, but the affection was still there.

Harry could hear the Dursleys stirring, and figured he might as well get ready for the day. He still had one more _spectacular_ breakfast to go through before he was off to the Burrow and then to the Quidditch World Cup.

XoXoXoXoX

Hermione’s eyes shot open. The dream she just had brought memories to mind that she and Pansy had only glazed over in the preceding months. They remembered that Magnus’ followers were right bastards, but they didn’t even want to touch what had happened to Leto (Pansy) that fateful winter.

Magnus and their older brother Hektor were off invading some small long forgotten city when Leto was asked to investigate a small standing segment of the Atlantean military. She was supposed to be gone for only two days, but that that turned into two weeks of hell for Leto. When Leto finally showed up she was bloody and beaten. The dream only brought into focus for Hermione that not all was buttercups and rainbows in the world. You didn’t need to be a dark lord of magic to instil fear into the masses, and you didn’t even need magic to cause someone pain and suffering.

“Mind if I stay with you for a while Mi?” Pansy’s voice sounded shaky.

“Not at all,” Hermione moved over and let Pansy slide into bed next to her.

It took a while before either of them drifted off to sleep again.

XoXoXoXoX

Daphne Greengrass woke up screaming in rage. The dreams contents would anger anyone with a conscience. Her mum and dad came running into her room wands drawn ready for anything. When she told them it was just a bad dream they asked if she wanted to talk about it, but she said it was nothing they need to worry about and that it was just a silly dream, but deep down she was bothered by it. Never in her fourteen years of living had she had a dream like this.

She never would have guessed that she would be dreaming of someone else’s life. It was weird, to say the least. Watching another person’s day-to-day routine was beyond weird. She had heard form Pansy that her soul bond with Hermione had brought up such memories, but she was told very little of what those memories were. Truth be told, she was originally jealous of Pansy for having both a past life and a soulmate that stretched back in time. Now, however, all she could feel was a pity.

Daphne got out of bed and made her way to her full-length mirror. She looked at her figure and mentally compared it to the woman she had seen in her dream. The dream was a bit fuzzy but from what she remembered the woman made her seem about average in appearance. Sure some of the boys thought otherwise but then again men and boys had only one thing on their minds ninety per cent of the time, and the other ten per cent was how to upstage the next guy.

A popping sound made her aware of one of the family house-elves. “Mistress Daphne is needed in the den.” Karl said in half bow.

“What for Karl?” she asked as the elf bounced on the balls of his feet.

“Master Richard wouldn’t tell me mistress only that you are requested to speak with him.”

“Okay thank you, Karl.” With that, the elf bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Once Daphne was dressed she made her way down to the den and found her father and mother sitting down “You wanted to speak with me dad?”

“Yes, Daphne, why don’t you sit down?” He gestured to the chair across from the settee. Once she was seated he continued. “I was wondering how well you know a Mr Potter?” her father asked.

‘Oh God I’m in for the Talk,’ was her only thought at that moment.

XoXoXoXoX

Hermione was trying to help Mr Weasley get everyone ready to go to the Dursleys. At the moment Pansy was saying she could just ‘pop’ over to his place and get him and his things. Hermione just reminded her that the Dursleys were extremely irrational about magic. To which Pansy said they should just get used to it already. Fred and George were snickering in the background at this conversation. When Mr Weasley thought they were ready they were already thirty minutes late, and if Harry was to be believed, and Hermione did believe him, his uncle would not be pleased with this at all. The first one through the Floo was Mr Weasley followed by Fred and George, and then Hermione followed the twins through the Floo. When she stopped spinning around she was stuck between George and a cold brick wall.

“What’s going on? Are we in the right place?” Hermione asked.

“Oh no Hermione,” Fred said, the sarcasm was rich in his voice. “No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.”

“Maybe Harry can hear us because if we don’t get out of here Pansy…” as if her words were a self-fulfilling prophecy Pansy flooed into the crammed fireplace. “Me and my big mouth,” Hermione said her face pressed into the brick wall.

“Well, this is bad… Yes well, it’s the only way. Move aside, everyone.” Mr Weasley drew his wand.

“Wait a moment!” Harry’s uncle bellowed. “What exactly are you going to-”

BANG!

With that Hermione and the other people held within the fireplace fell out. Fred and George landed on either side of her while Pansy landed on top of her. Mr Weasley was still within the fireplace. When she untangled herself from her love she found herself looking at Mr Dursley. In this place, her mind was filled with thirteen years of abuse. She was forced to endure the trauma Harry endured from the moment he was left in this house. His uncle would beat him senseless with a belt for no reason at all it seemed. His other relatives were no better. Hermione could feel the air around her ripple with her rage.

She could hear Mr Weasley trying to calm Mr Dursley’s nerves.

“Now you needn’t worry Mr Dursley we will be gone from here shortly. It won’t take me long to fix all this up.” Mr Weasley looked over at her and his eyes went wide. “Hermione dear what is wrong?”

“It’s not ‘what’ Mr Weasley it would be ‘who’.” Hermione turned her gaze to the obese man backed nearly to the wall and the woman cowering behind him. “If either of you thinks you are getting away with what you’ve done to Harry you are sorely mistaken. I don’t care how far I have to go, or what I have to do, but you shall face the courts for what you have done to Harry.”

Vernon Dursley’s face went puce. “Now see here young lady we have given that boy a roof over his head, food, and clothing. We do not need some sassy little girl telling us how to raze a boy!” Vernon stomped a foot on the ground. “Just wait till I find out how to contact your parents and give those freaks a piece of my mind.”

“My parents are Daniel and Emma Granger. They are dentists in London, so do make sure you brush your teeth before you speak to them.” Hermione stepped away from Vernon at this moment.

Pansy and Harry took the opportunity to pull her away from the Dursleys. Mr Weasley tried to placate the situation.

“The first thing you freaks do is break my house, and now this little tart starts to insult us!” Vernon screamed.

Hermione struggled against Pansy and Harry’s grip. “That’s really funny you overweight slob! You’re really quick to blame Harry for things, but you refuse to admit your own son’s faults.”

“How dare you! I’ll have you know-”

“SILENCE!” Hermione screamed. A flash of scarlet filled the room. The man’s mouth stopped moving when he realized words no longer left them. “That’ better.”

“Hermione darling what are you doing?” asked Mr Weasley.

“Evening the scales as it were Mr Weasley.” She pointed to Vernon. “That man has done things that most people would classify as abuse.” A sharp intake of air came from Mr Weasley.

“That’s a lie young lady!” Mrs Dursley screamed. “We have done nothing but try and raise this boy right!”

“Did your parents lock you in a cupboard?” Hermione snapped back. When Petunia didn’t say anything she turned to Vernon. “How about your parents Mr Dursley, did your father throw you in a cupboard for making just one mistake for weeks on end. Did your mother constantly call you ‘boy’, ‘girl’, or ‘freak’? Ma’am, I know some pretty evil people, and the only thing that makes them worse than you is that they’ve actually killed people.” Hermione's voice was threatening to rise in volume once more.

“Wait till we tell your parents the way you are treating _normal_ people. I’m sure your parents will be really pleased with your actions.”

“I can tell you that my father would be pleased that I stood up for my friend, and I dare not say what my mother might say or even think about this… poor parenting.” Hermione looked over to Harry’s cousin. “It’s just a shame that your parents think they are raising you right”

When she heard the sound of Harry’s trunk come down the stairs Hermione yield to Pansy’s tugging on her sleeve. The twins were dragging Harry’s trunk down the stairs. She just started tuning out Mrs Dursley’s ranting. If this is what Harry had to put up with daily Hermione was surprised Harry hadn’t run away.

“Uh right,” said Mr Weasley. “Better get cracking then.”

Mr Weasley turned to the ‘fireplace’ and cast the fire-making spell. Once that was done he asked Fred to go first. On his way over to the fireplace, Fred accidentally dropped some candies, and Hermione could see a smile etched across his face. She set it all thoughts of why aside as she knew the boy deserved some form of punishment in return for the way he treated Harry. Once Fred was off with Harry’s trunk it was Fred’s turn. Then Mr Weasley turned to her.

“All right Hermione it’s your turn.” Mr Weasley said with a bit of trepidation.

“Actually Mr Weasley I think Pansy should go first.” Hermione looked over to Pansy. “I will be fine, and I don’t think I should lie to this man.” Mr Weasley started shifting around. “What’s wrong Mr Weasley?”

“My Lady I don’t think it is such a good idea for you to remain here.” Mr Weasley said sounding more than a little bit nervous.

”I won’t hurt him physically Mr Weasley.” She looked over at Mr Dursley. “No matter how much he deserves it.”

“Mi…” Pansy looked over at Hermione. “Look, just don’t do anything stupid.” Pansy leaned in and kissed Hermione lightly on the lips. Hermione heard Mrs Dursley make a sound of disgust. Pansy broke away. “Do you want to rile her temper?” Pansy asked in a whisper.

“I would love that.” Hermione said as she leaned in and kissed Pansy passionately.

“Girls that’s enough I think my aunt is going to kill you.” Harry said with a smile on his face.

Pansy broke the kiss, and walked to the fireplace and said “The Burrow.” Once she disappeared in a flash of flames Hermione turned to Mrs Dursley and glared at her. They stared at one another for a long moment. This was ended by Vernon stepping between the two of them, and trying to look imposing and threatening.

“Please Dursley you are no threat to me, and that’s not because I’m a witch.” The man tried to speak, but the divine spell still rendered him mute. “Speak.”

The house was filled with Vernon’s voice. “How dare you think you can just command me to be silent?!” Vernon stood there and blinked for a moment. Then he started to smile. “I think your parents will be getting letters about the use of your magic soon, and hopefully you will be sent to prison for it.”

Hermione just smiled. “Actually Dursley that wasn’t magic the Magical government can detect.” The purple colour in Vernon’s face started to fade away in blotchy patches. “Dursley I want you to do something.”

“I will not treat that boy like my son!” Vernon screamed.

“That isn’t what I want you to do.” She looked at him and let all her rage slip into her eyes. By the look on Petunia’s face confirmed her eyes shifted to silvery-brown. “I want you to try and hit me.”

“Hermione!” screamed Mr Weasley. “That is unladylike.”

“I am not acting as Lady Granger. I am doing this as a daughter of Hecate.”

Petunia scoffed. “So you lied earlier. Your mother is this… whore Hecate, not Mrs Granger. I bet she’s SO proud of you.”

“First of all my mother is not a whore.” Hermione looked over to Mr Dursley. “Well, what are you waiting for? You hit Harry when he was much younger. Is it because I’m a woman, or is it because you’d rather do _other_ things to me you pervert?” Hermione just stood there as Vernon Dursley strutted up to her with a raised hand. As his hand came down Hermione ducked behind the man. She started laughing as he stumbled forward. When the man turned around she just smiled. “Honestly I can understand you don’t recognize my mother’s name, but perhaps you’ve heard of my sister Circe?”

“YOU’RE JOKING?” screamed Mrs Weasley.

“Honestly given what I’ve said and done is that hard to believe what I just said?” Hermione said this trying her best not to smile. As she was about to tell them the truth Hermione felt a fist collide with her face. She stumbled to the left for a little bit, but she was able to regain her footing. Looking up she saw Dudley smiling, and Harry running towards him. “NO!”

“He hit you!” Harry said firmly. “That is unacceptable.”

“Harry just let me handle this.” Hermione said sternly. “Regardless of what you do to me Dursleys, _you will_ pay for what you’ve done to Harry.” With that said, Dudley tried to hit her once more. After dodging his fist she went ethereal to avoid getting hit by Vernon. It is at that point that Petunia screamed at the top of her lungs. It was at this point that scared looks took hold on their faces. Hermione took one step near the obese fool and he fell to his massive backside in his attempt to get away from her. The arrival of Rexa made Hermione sigh.

“It looks like my fun has to end, but if you couldn’t figure it out I am a demigoddess. My birth mother is Hecate goddess of magic, witchcraft, and child protection. She is the goddess of much more, but those are the ones that matter here,” she pointed to the group. “I will _know_ if you ever mistreat him again, so I’m warning you here and know. I view him as my little brother. So just keep that in mind.” With that, she walked over to Rexa and took the note off her collar.

_Mi,_

_You need to finish whatever it is you’re doing Mrs Weasley is about to blow a gasket (I hope I’m saying and spelling that right)._

_Pans_

With that read, Hermione put her hand on the ground and just made the ground glow green. She turned to look at the Dursley’s and was surprised to see the Headmaster standing behind them. “I think that was unnecessary Ms Granger, but given what they tried to do I can understand.”

“If my magic set off some kind of alarm you had your priorities were wrong.” Hermione was just glaring at Dumbledore at that moment. “How long have you known about the way they were treating Harry?”

“Hermione it is for his safety that he remain-”

“Don’t tell me that Headmaster!” the gust of wind sent his robes billowing behind him.

The older wizard just sighed. “There are wards of blood that protect him and his relatives so long as he lives in this house during the summer.”

“After what I saw the moment my foot touched this floor I’d say they don’t deserve to be protected. If Voldemort wants to attack them let him.” Hermione walked over to Rexa. “Head back to Pansy girl, and I will be there soon.”

“Ms Granger, will you give me those memories after the World Cup?”

“Yes, Headmaster.” She stepped into the fire, “The Burrow.”

 


	13. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or affiliated characters, places, and things. They all belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated companies. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came for the excellent mind of their owner.
> 
> A/N: The tournament is almost here. I have had to think of how things would go for a long while. I hope you all like how things go. Keep the reviews coming!

Hermione was pacing back and forth waiting for Harry to arrive. She knew that Professor Dumbledore and Mr Weasley were there, but images of what happened to Harry over the years kept going through her mind. Pansy tried to calm her down, but that had failed. As she made her fifth pass in front of the fireplace it came to life. Harry came stumbling out of the fireplace. Hermione wasted no time in making sure Harry wasn't hurt.

"What are you doing dear?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"Given what I've learned about the Dursleys I don't trust them even with Professor Dumbledore there."

"Hermione perhaps Harry needs a break from stress?" Pansy said as she wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist.

"I wouldn't call it stress Pans," Harry said with a smile. "I'd call it drama."

"Why you…" Hermione tried to lung at Harry, but Pansy held her back.

"I am trying to keep _you_ out of trouble, but you aren't helping me," Pansy said as struggled to hold Hermione in place. "Mi darling I think he's fine now. I don't know what the Dursleys did to him, but I don't think they will be able to do it to him anymore. Remember Professor Dumbledore is a good man. If he thinks they can't take care of Harry he will not let them take care of him."

"I hope your right, Pansy." Hermione leaned against her.

"Ginny, Pansy, why don't you take the dishes outside?" Mrs Weasley said with a smile. "Harry, Fred and George took your things up to Ronald's old room. Why don't you and Hermione take out the silverware?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said. She and Harry walked over and grabbed the forks and knives. Mr Weasley returned home as they made their way out to the backyard. He did not look happy. "What happened back at the Dursley's Harry?"

"Do you remember all those sweets that Fred spilt?" Hermione nodded. "Well, they were joke sweets apparently. Dudley found one and when he ate it his tongue started growing uncontrollably. Mr Weasley tried to help him, but Uncle Vernon started throwing things at him. It took Professor Dumbledore putting him under a full body bind curse to stop him. Mr Weasley shrank his tongue to normal size. Sad really, seeing Dudley suffer for what he's done was quite nice." Harry looked over at her with worried expression gracing his face. "What happened to you when you entered the Dursleys house?"

Hermione looked around and seeing that they were approaching Ginny and Pans she whispered. "I saw the way the treated you from the moment you arrived at their house." Harry's eyes went wide. "Harry my mother is the goddess of child protection in addition to magic. So setting foot in that house was like me watch a recording of child abuse." When Harry's shoulders fell Hermione gave him a hug. "It's okay Harry the only person aside from Dumbledore that will see that information is me."

After a while, Harry broke away from her. "Were you really going to go to the police about what you saw?"

"I couldn't show them the memories, but if you'd go with me I'd be more than willing to give you the support you'd need for it." Hermione put a hand on his shoulder. "What do you say?"

"Well hopefully we won't need to, but if we do I'd like that." Harry blushed a little bit. "I think we need to go before your girlfriend gets some really weird ideas."

Hermione pushed him back a little. "You're going to get us both in trouble." A loud banging sound made Hermione jump. Looking to her left she saw Bill and Charlie smashing two tables into each other. Before they could enjoy the show Percy stuck his head out the window.

"Would you keep it down?! I am trying to work up here."

"Sorry Perce, how are the cauldron bottoms coming?" asked Bill.

"Very badly," Percy shut the window.

Hermione led Harry over to Bill and Charlie and introduced them. Harry looked taken aback by Charlie. Once the table was set they all sat down and started talking about what happened at the Dursleys. The twins came out after a while and started asking Harry about what happened to Dudley. The story that he told made every laugh. Normally Hermione wouldn't be laughing at this, but given what she had seen the boy deserved every bit of this.

"What are you talking about boys?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"Nothing." They said as one.

"It better not be about Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes." Mrs Weasley said sharply.

"It isn't," Fred said.

It wasn't long until the tables were creaking under the weight of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking. Hermione shook her head as Harry tore into the food like he had been deprived of food for weeks. Hermione started taking with Pansy about the things they might do after the world cup.

"Girls I wouldn't plan on doing much. The last World Cup lasted for a week." Charlie said with a smile.

"I hope it isn't," said Percy. "I can only imagine the size of my inbox."

"Yeah someone might send some more dragon dung eh Percy." Fred said.

"I told you, that was from Norway and it was a sample." Percy was blushing slightly.

George leaned over and whispered something to Harry, and he nearly shot pumpkin juice out of his nose. Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Harry, have you heard from Sirius?"

"Yes, I have. In fact, he and Circe showed up at the Dursleys at least once a week." Harry just smiled. "My relatives hate him, and Dudley is terrified of Circe."

"No surprise there." Hermione said with a smile. "So I take it they still want you to live with them?"

"Without a doubt, but Dumbledore is still saying that I have to stay with my relatives. You know I think I'm just going to move in with them. I mean it's not like he is my actual guardian. Sirius is, so I don't have to do what he says outside of school."

"Harry the Death Eaters know where they live." Pansy said quietly. "They don't know where your relatives live, or if they do Dumbledore has put up some kind of ward to prevent them from getting to you there."

Hermione saw Harry's shoulders fall. "Enough about that Harry, have you dropped Divinations?"

"Yes, I dropped it. Without the old Ron there I don't think I could stand that class. I've been catching up on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with Circe. So I should be joining you and Daphne in those classes this year."

"You know Harry there are better ways to hang out with your girlfriend." Pansy was smiling as she said this.

Hermione put an arm around Pansy. "Darling that might not be the reason he is taking those classes."

"Oh it's the reason, and you know it." Pansy leaned in to kiss her.

"I don't think so." Hermione started tickling Pansy.

"Ack!" Pansy started laughing. The two of them fell to the ground, and Pansy started tickling Hermione back.

"Okay girls as funny as this is to watch you do need to be up early tomorrow, and you have all been up too long already." Mrs Weasley said with a smile.

With that Harry, Hermione, Pansy, Ginny, and the twins made their way to their bedrooms. Harry was dragged to Ron's old room. When the girls got back to Ginny's room they started putting their clothes away. Mrs Weasley was supposed to be bringing their school uniforms to them in a few minutes.

* * *

 

Magnus was walking back and forth in the sitting room pondering the information that Morgana brought him a week ago. Someone had sent up Voldemort's sign up during the World Cup. He had been pondering what he should do about it. He knew from his memories as Ronald Weasley that the fool was still alive. The idea of siding with some who was barely holding on to his sanity made him feel uneasy, but the thought of fighting Hermione on his own was not one he found comfortable.

The sound of the door opening snapped him out of thoughts. "What is it my Summer Bell?"

"Just checking in on you darling. I've always wondered why you called me that." Morgana said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I call you that because we fell in love during the summer, and make my heart ring like a bell." Magnus picked up her hand and kissed it. "I was pondering the idea of joining forces with Voldemort."

"Perhaps we should without help we will never beat those tarts, and she will not be able to handle him."

"Why do you say that?" Magnus asked.

"She is friends with Harry Potter, and his enemy is not dead, and as they say…"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Magnus smiled.

 


	14. The Rose

Hermione shot up a cold sweat running down her face. The idea of Magnus joining forces with Voldemort was beyond terrifying. She looked around the room. Ginny and Pansy were sleeping peacefully. The stack of books she had been reading was still sitting there beside her bed. There was a part of her that was relieved that it was just a dream, but given what they have been dreaming about Magnus it was still disturbing. Hermione got up and looked out the window. It was still dark outside. It was so beautiful outside despite what was running through her mind. The nightmare she just had gnawed at the peace night was trying to bring her. She knew that Voldemort was alive due to her first two years at Hogwarts, but the thought of Magnus joining forces with that madman was sending a chill down her spine. But Voldemort was incapable of doing anything. Whatever happened that October night had left him a disembodied spirit. If Magnus helped that… thing regain physical form things were going to get really bad.

Hermione looked over her shoulder to where Pansy was sleeping. The gentle rise and fall of her chest meant that her dreams were untroubled. Magnus had destroyed everything the last time he was alive. She let out a held breath. It was hard to think of Magnus without remembering his last action in his previous life. His anger was what drove him to guide the Atlantean army to self-destructive actions.

Hermione shook her head at these thoughts. She had to remind herself that this was Ronald Weasley she was talking about. While he may have regained his memories as Magnus, somehow, he was still a fourteen-year-old boy with just the memories of his past life. Whatever Fate had in store for him there was still the chance that he could be saved. His lover, on the other hand, had three thousand eight hundred years of life on all of them, and if anyone deserved to be damned it was her.

“Mi what’s the matter?” Pansy’s voice snapped her back into the present. The look of worry plastered on Pansy’s face made her uneasy.

“I am sorry if I woke you Pans. I was thinking about things I shouldn’t have.” Hermione held out her hand. When Pansy grabbed it, she squeezed it gently. "We are going to the World Cup, and I should only be thinking of the _fun_ we are going to have there.”

Pansy just smiled lightly at her. “Hermione, I know you are worried about me, and about what Magnus is going to do to this world. You don’t need to think about it all the time. He…”

Whatever Pansy was going to say was lost when Mrs Weasley opened the door to wake them. Mrs Weasley told them to get up and that breakfast was ready. Hermione stood up and tried to pull Pansy to her feet. As Pansy was rising to her feet she smiled, and before Hermione could ask what was up Pansy pulled her towards her causing her to fall on top of her girlfriend. The two of them fell to the floor with Pansy laughing on the way down. As they rolled around on the floor Hermione could hear Ginny say something to the effect of ‘love birds'. Hermione and Pansy looked between each other for about ten seconds before they burst into laughter. It took them so long to stop laughing that Mrs Weasley came up to Ginny's room to speed them along.

As they walked down the stairs Hermione could hear Mr Weasley talking to Harry. When she came around the corner she saw him in the most miss-matched muggle clothing the man must have owned. The golf jumper didn't mesh well with the jeans, and thick leather belt looked a touch too large for the man, but he looked happy. So, airing on the side of caution Hermione said nothing to the man. She and Pansy sat next to each other at the table. While they were eating, Hermione looked at her girlfriend sitting off to her left. She was wearing a nice pair of blue jeans, and a jumper that hugged her curves a little too closely. Hermione thought she was wearing that on purpose. The trainers she was wearing were silver and green. It was almost like she was advertising her house.

The sound of the floo coming alive snapped her out of the admiration of her girlfriend. Within a few seconds, Sirius Black came into view. He was quickly followed by Circe. Her sister looked exceptionally happy. Hermione didn’t want to think about why she was that happy as that would recall images of things she didn’t want to think about. Circe seemed to notice this and twitched her eyebrows.

“Do you have to make my stomach turn?” Hermione asked.

“No, but it is my obligations,” Circe brought her had to chest as she said this. “...to make sure you are exposed to the most uncomfortable situation you can see at your current age.”

"Gee thanks," Hermione said as she ate some of her porridge.

Everyone else laughed at this, but Hermione was staring daggers at her sister. It was at this point that Mr Weasley resumed his conversation with Harry as to how they were getting to the World Cup. When he got to why apparition was dangerous everyone but Harry flinched. It was really odd that he remained so clueless as to the dangers of the wizarding world. Well, all the dangers that didn't include Voldemort.

Hermione shook her head of these thoughts when Mr Weasley said they should be going. Before they left something fell out of Fred's coat pocket. When Mrs Weasley asked what, it was he tried to brush it off as nothing, but she was having none of it. She summoned the object to her. When she asked what, it was the twins said nothing. At this point, Mrs Weasley seemed to have had enough. Even though she didn't know what they where she started summoning the objects to her. They started coming out of unexpected place. The turn-ups of Fred's jeans, the lining of George's coat, and a few came flying out of both their socks. They complained to her that this was the pinnacle of seven months of work for the line of joke products. This apparently was a subject Mrs Weasley was not fond of at all.

“If you had spent those seven months studying instead of goofing around on this Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stuff you would have gotten more OWLs. You could have been working in the Ministry like your father!” Mrs Weasley said with some amount of emphasis.

“WE DON'T WANT TO WORK IN THE MINISTRY!” Fred nearly screamed.

“We want to open a joke shop!” George finished.

“That is the problem with the two of you! You are always looking for innovative ways to cause trouble! You should be doing better than that! You should be setting a better example for your sister!” Molly almost screamed.

“She has four other older brothers for that. We want to make life fun!” George said as he stalked out of the kitchen, and assuming the noise she heard was indeed the front door then the house as well.

“Come on everyone we should be going.” Mr Weasley said in a sombre tone.

Everyone bid Mrs Weasley goodbye. She told them to make sure the twins didn't cause any more problems. Mr Weasley told her he would, but given the look on his face, she was certain he wasn't going to be pushing anyone's buttons today. She knew he would talk to the boys about their behaviour, but she was certain he would not be discouraging the boy's dreams. He didn't seem to mind that his two oldest sons didn’t follow him into the Ministry. This did seem like a dream Mrs Weasley envisioned for her son’s regardless of where their true passions lay.

A tap on her shoulder grabbed her attention to the here and now. She looked around and found that in her train of thought she had walked yards ahead of everyone else. Well except for Pansy, but Hermione wouldn’t have put it past Pansy to shadow step behind her to grab her attention. She whispered an apology to Pansy. To which the other girl just smiled, and swatted her on the arm in a playful manner. “You get too lost in your own thought you know?”

"Yeah, and it can be bothersome," Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around Pansy. "It takes me away from the important things in life." Hermione leant in and kissed Pansy on the cheek.

"All right break it up love birds," Sirius said with a chuckle.

Pansy looked over at him and stuck her tongue out at the man. Once everyone passed them up Hermione and Pansy commenced their walk. Pansy took hold of her left hand and started taking the lead. They didn’t talk much as they made their way to Stoatshead Hill. It took them until the sun was just starting to rise for them to reach the top. Hermione during this whole ordeal wasn’t feeling all that tired until the Sun came up. Her mother's dominion overnight must have been showing itself. Even Pansy was giving her dirty looks, and all Hermione could do was smile sheepishly back at them. The only other person who shouldn't have been having a problem was looking kind of winded at the moment, but Hermione couldn't tell if Circe was faking it or not. She was willing to bet that she was just trying to make Sirius feel okay about being winded.

Mr Weasley told them to start looking around for the portkey. Hermione knew it wouldn't be something too outrageous as Mr Weasley had said the thing would look like nothing more than a piece of litter. She hadn't been looking long when she heard a voice calling out from the woods. Two tall silhouettes were hanging out near the edge of the forest. When Hermione made her way to the voice a man with a stubby beard came into view. Mr Weasley was shaking the man's hand, and on the other, he seemed to be holding a rather large broken wheel of a bicycle. Mr Weasley introduced the man as Amos Diggory, and the young man standing next to him didn’t need any introduction. It was Cedric Diggory, and this man was his father. There was a small conversation about the price of the tickets to the World Cup. Once everyone was introduced to each other they made ready for the portkey to activate. Harry seemed to be a tad worried about all of this and was the last one to put his finger on the bicycle wheel.

Once they had all had at least a finger on the wheel Mr Weasley started counting down. When he got to one the feeling of something tugging the back of her navel grabbed her attention. What followed that was the world spinning around and around at great speed. It wasn’t long after that they were told to let go of the wheel. When Hermione did so she stopped spinning around and just seemed to be falling. As she approached the ground Hermione held out her hands and thought of flying to stop her downward movement. When she stopped moving she opened her eyes and found herself floating one foot off the ground. When she breathed a sigh of relief she continued her descent to the ground. When she finally hit the ground, it was still with some amount of force. Her back was a bit sore from the impact. She might need to talk to her mum and dad about needing to see a chiropractor for this. When she got to her feet she saw her girlfriend smiling over at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me how to land on my feet?” Hermione whined as she glared at Pans and Harry.

"Well, we thought that with your brilliant mind that you would have already read how to do this," Pansy said as she leant in to kiss her.

"Nuh-uh, after that comment I don't think so," Hermione said sternly.

Pansy whimpered. "Come on Hermione, it wasn't that bad of a comment."

"Give it up Pansy, your busted," Harry said with a smile.

"Don't push it Harry, or I will tell Daphne about this…" Hermione had this cold look on her face. Harry's face started losing its colour in his face. "Besides it could be worse. It could be a continuous joke for Sirius over there."

"Oh God," Harry said rolling his eyes. "Don't give him ammunition."

"She doesn't have too I witnessed it," Sirius said with a bark-ish laugh. "I promise you this: I won't blackmail you too often with it.”

"Gee thanks," Harry said as they walked up to the two men taking the portkeys.

There was a small conversation with the two men collecting the portkeys. It seems someone named Ludo Bagmen was causing a slight problem with the Wizarding Secrecy law. This sounded a bit odd to her. She had thought that ALL MoM employees were all dedicated to upholding such laws. The idea that a MoM employee was doing this was outrageous! There had to be a standard they had to uphold, right? One look over at Pansy made her worry a little. She was just laughing with Mr Weasley about all of this. When they went on their way to the area where they would be staying for the duration of the World Cup. As they made their way to the campground Pansy was trying to get back in Hermione's good graces. She kept promising backrubs, bring her tea, or doing her laundry. This did cause Hermione to smile, but she wasn’t going to stay made their way to Mr Roberts.

Once they were in sight of the Roberts home the sun was starting to rise. Hermione noticed a small group of people standing outside the house. When they got within sight of the crowd one of them started running towards them. When the girl was close, enough Hermione realised it was Daphne running towards them. When Harry realised this, he started running towards his girlfriend. Hermione looked over at Pansy who was pouting. Hermione’s willpower gave out at the look on her face. She just sighed and held open her arms. Pansy smiled as she walked up and wrapped her in a hug. There were, just something Hermione couldn’t do, and looking at Pansy’s pitiful pouty face was one of these things.

When the two couples stopped their show of emotion the two groups walked up to the house. Mr Weasley, Sirius, and Mr Greengrass were asking Harry about the money. This caused Mr Roberts to ask them a lot of questions about their nationality. Hermione had to bit her tongue to keep from laughing. A sideways look at Pansy revealed that she wasn’t the only one doing this. She wanted to remind Pans that she was just like them when she first started living with her. Though getting herself in trouble was not on her ‘to do’ list. She had much, much better things to do on her ‘to do’ list. Granted most of these things had to do with Pans. Not ALL of them were perverted, but _most_ of them were.

“What are you blushing about Hermione?” Daphne asked looking over the rim of her glasses. This smile on her face let Hermione know that she had somehow guessed what she was thinking.

"Nothing," Hermione said with a touch of haste.

"Sure," Daphne said with a wicked grin on her face.

As they walked through the campground Hermione finally realised that there was a man talking to Mr Weasley and Sirius. When the conversation ended the man disapparated with a small popping sound. There was a small conversation between Harry, Mr Weasley, and Sirius about the seriousness about the Wizarding Secrecy law. Hermione was pulled out of the conversation by Pansy who was asking about the difference between football and quidditch. She had tried this explanation before, but it didn’t seem to stick.

Daphne pulled them out of this conversation by asking about what they had been doing over the summer. This smile on her face made Hermione think she was fishing for information that would make her go scarlet. Thankfully for her Pansy kept the conversation civil. She not even once hinted that she and Hermine had done anything inappropriate. This, however, might have been a different conversation if they were in a tent. This simple thought made Hermione blush furiously. One look at Daphne revealed that this may have been the goal of her questioning in the first place.

“Here we are.” Said Mr Weasley.

One look at what Mr Weasley was looking at three blank slots to their right. One sign was labelled ‘Weezly’. The others were spelt correctly, but you could still tell that whoever was writing the sign hesitated a little bit on the spelling of Greengrass. It was at this point that the three adult men asked Hermione and Harry how to put up a tent. It took them a while to put up Mr Weasleys two tents, but once that was done the adults could put up the other two tents without their help. Mr Weasley asked them to go get some water for them to use for lunch. Ginny ran back into the tent Mr Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Percy were going to be using to get the map. Once they knew where the tap was Harry, Pansy, Hermione, and Daphne started making their way to the tap.

On the way, Hermione started noticing exactly how many people were here. It seemed as if a city of tents was coming out of the morning mist. It was kind of awe-inspiring really. Some of these tents seemed to be two to three stories tall. A couple of them even had ramparts attached to them. This was a touch disconcerting. For a society that loved its seclusion from the muggle world, it seemed most witches and wizards were really bad at keeping ‘the secret'. The sight of a young wizard standing outside his family’s tent enlarging a slug was quite funny, but the image of two young witches flying their toy brooms unsupervised outside the tent was not. The idea that a parent would let their children do this was beyond odd to her. In the muggle world in a group this large a parent would have always been there to look out for the children, she hoped.

“What’s wrong love?” Pansy asked.

“How could a parent have a lie in with children that young being outside in an environment like this?” Hermione asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"They probably have the children and area around the tent charmed to alert people if something happens," Daphne said rather matter-of-factly. Hermione was starting to wonder if this is what she sounded like to others. "I know my father has charmed the tent to make a loud sound if Astoria or myself break these bracelets." Daphne held up her right hand. There was a purple bracelet around her wrist. "If we were younger it would be charmed to prevent side along with apparition, and the alert would come if we got away from the tent.”

"Okay, I feel a little bit better about that now," Hermione said looking over her shoulder at the two girls. There was now a man with salt and pepper hair standing outside the tent in his pyjamas looking rather upset at the two young girls holding their brooms behind their backs. "Pansy when we have children IF you let our children do something like that I will kill you.”

Pansy just smiled at her with this impish glint in her eyes. "Duly noted, love, but I will warn you now I do expect one of our children to play quidditch," Pansy said this last bit walking a little bit faster. "I mean it is not like they would be as awesome a seeker as Harry is or anything."

“Why you!” Hermione said as she started running after Pans.

As they ran through the field Hermione noticed a few people from school, and unfortunately so did Pansy. Pansy ran up behind Oliver Wood telling him she was needing a shield. Oliver seemed confused about what was going on at the moment. Though when he finally realised what was going on he started laughing. He tried to step out of the way, but Pansy was just quick enough on her feet to stay out of Hermione's reach. When a truce was finally called, she walked back into Hermione’s embrace. Though Hermione was still staring daggers at Pansy. Wood started talking about being drafted into Puddlemere United reserve team. When Harry and Daphne joined them, Oliver shook both their hands and insisted that Harry should meet his parents. After the small introduction, he told Harry the good news he had shared with them. Once the small conversation was done they began walking back towards the water tap.

When they were near where the tap was located, the scenery changed. Instead of being surrounded by tents bedecked with magical things they were surrounded by small green hillocks. Well, that is wat they looked like at first glance. On closer inspection, they were tents covered in four leaf clovers. There were enough Irish flags surrounding them for them to not need the shamrocks to signify who they were loyal to.

As they walked past one of the tents someone called out their names. Turning to look at Hermione saw Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas coming out of a tent. A woman followed Dean out of the tent, and this had to be Dean’s mum. Dean introduced them to Mrs Finnigan, and it took them a while to convince her that they would be supporting Ireland. Once this was done talk of the way things were decorated came up. Hermione was interested in the way the Bulgarians had decorated their tents. Once the jibes at the lack Ministry oversight were settled Dean turned conversation turned to a topic she was hoping the boys would avoid.

“So, have either of you seen Ron lately?” Dean asked.

Hermione cringed at the mention of the boy’s name. “No, and to be honest I don’t care if I do.”

“Easy Hermione,” Dean said backing away from Hermione a little. “…I was just wondering if you walked by his tent.”

Pansy groaned at the thought. “No, and tell me where he is at, so we can avoid him.”

“What happened between you guys?” Seamus asked.

"It is a long story, and one that is too convoluted to keep straight," Hermione said with a touch of bitterness in her voice. "We need to take off though. I don't think Mr Weasley would like it if we were late."

The other agreed. They said they would see each other on the train. They bid their farewell and started walking away. Pansy said they should head to the Bulgarian section to see what was decorating their tents. Her reason for doing this was “Spying on the enemy.” Hermione and Daphne looked at each other, and they rolled their eyes. Harry was laughing at this, but he agreed with Pansy’s ‘sound reasoning.’ The two of them started walking towards the Bulgarian flags flying in the distance. When they got there Hermione’s jaw dropped open. Covering the tents was the poster of a sour looking man just blinking and staring blankly off into the distance.

"Krum," Pansy said blankly

“What?” Hermione asked rather confused.

“Viktor Krum. He is the name of the Bulgarian seeker, and clearly, they REALLY love him." Pansy said rather cheekily.

"Pansy," Hermione said swatting her girlfriend on the shoulder.

"Don't get too mad at her," Daphne said calmly. "He is the best seeker in the world.”

“Well that may be the case, but this must be the real reason that grounds keeper needs to memory wipe so often," Hermione said with more than a little concern showing in her voice.

"They are not droids Mi," Pansy said chuckling.

“Droids?” Daphne said with a look of confusion.

Hermione sighed and started explaining that her dad had been watching all sorts of science fiction movies with Pans. She then explained, with Harry and Pansy's help, what that was to Daphne. As they were telling her this they started walking back. They ran into a few more of their classmates. They said hello or waved to at least a dozen people. At some point, Harry pointed out a group of girls he didn’t recognise. Hermione told him that they were probably from another school. He then asked how many schools of magic there were. Hermione told him there was eleven total. He then asked how many were in Europe. She told him three of them: Durmstrang, Beauxbaton, and Hogwarts. The only one she thought he would be interested outside of the other European schools was Ilvermorny, and its similarities to Hogwarts. Hearing about that made him take a perplexed look on his face.

All this conversation came to an end when they returned to the tents. George said they had taken long enough, and that they were starving. When Harry asked why the fire wasn’t started yet Fred said that Mr Weasley was having “fun” with the matches. Hermione took pity on the man and helped him get the fire started. While they waited for the fire to get hot enough to start cooking Sirius started talking to them about who they thought was going to win the match. Ginny was talking with Circe about what she used on her hair.

A gentle pair of arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders. She looked to her left and saw Pansy’s gentle smile. Pansy gestured to a spot beside the fire. The two of them walked hand in hand. When they got to spot, Pansy wanted to be the raven-haired young woman sat down, and gently nudged Hermione into a sitting position on her lap. They talked about nothing in particular. Pansy seemed to be focusing the conversation on how she was doing integrating into the muggle world. Hermione told her she was doing fine. Sure, sometimes her clothes were horribly miss matched, but other than that she was doing fine.

“Why are you asking this?” Hermione asked as she rested her head against Pansy’s chest.

“There are times where I think I am making mistakes, and I’m worried that I’ll embarrass you…”

Hermione turned around to face her girlfriend. She placed her hands on her cheeks. “Listen to me love,” Hermione whispered, “…unless you are dancing drunk starkers in the street I won’t be embarrassed.”

Pansy blushed a little and leant in to rest her head against Hermione’s. “You are too kind.”

“And you're too hard on yourself love,” Hermione said as she leant and gently kissed Pansy on the lips. She then returned to her sitting position, and rested her head once more on Pansy’s chest. The conversation then moved to what they were going to be doing before the match. Pansy wanted to go and look around to see what the merchants were selling. Hermione was interested in this as well. She knew about some of the things sold at muggle sporting events, and wonder if the magical community had adaptations of these things. The idea of an enchanted caps or pins brought a smile to her face.

It wasn’t long after this that the food was ready. About five minutes into the meal Bill, Charlie, and Percy arrived. Percy, as he approached, bragged about his apparating skills. Pansy groaned about this. Hermione looked over at her and found the other girl shaking her head in disgust.

 


	15. Lives and Politics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or affiliated characters, places, and things. They all belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated companies. This particular plot is mine, however. And to make it seem more cohesive to the original stories I am using some of the lines from them, but they are not my material. They came from the excellent mind of their owner.
> 
> A/N: The veil is splitting, and the world is trembling. The DARK LORD HAS RETURNED! All joking aside I am writing a longer chapter because you all deserve it. Italics is someone speaking in Atlantean. Anyway, please read and review. Thank you.

Hermione was walking around with Pansy and Harry looking at the things being offered for sale. It was amazing some of the things being offered for sale. Lockets that chanted out the members of the Irish team names, and they were still looking around at things to buy. This, however, was being made more difficult with every second because Pansy kept talking to her so sweetly that Hermione just wanted to kiss her senseless. This was made even more complicated with some of the things they were talking about. One of which was starting to make Hermione wonder about her best friend.

"You know Daphne there is a part of me that thinks you need seriously think about this Mediwitch thing. You would be great at it." Harry said with this wide smile on his face. "I mean I was thinking about being an Auror, but I don't know." Harry leaned in and kissed Daphne on her lips. "I mean I've started thinking about looking into professional quidditch, maybe a professor, or anything else I might be good at."

"Well, you're good quidditch Harry, and if you don't seriously think on it I am going to kick your arse," Pansy said firmly.

"You are only saying this because whoever he gets signed on by you will be making bets for at Gringott's," Harry said this with a smile.

Pansy looked shocked at this moment, but slow smile started to slowly crawl across her face. This caused Hermione to groan and shake her head. "Now Harry I am shocked that you think I would stoop so low as to gamble on your performance as professional quidditch player. I am not so shallow I will let you know." Pansy at this moment put on that face she used to use when she was playing the role of 'true pure-blood' looking skyward with her right-hand light pressed against her chest by the tips of her fingers.

Daphne and Harry said as one, “Bullshite.”

Hermione could take no more of this show and started giggling. Pansy looked at her with another false look of superiority. "Not you too," Pansy whined.

Hermione just smiled back at Pansy. “My love I don't know if it is your _past action_ or your more recent one, but some things you do make think you are playing at something." Pansy pouted at this point. Hermione was proud that she was able to hold out for ten seconds this time. "I am only saying that if you did there would be a reason behind it. Like you were trying to win money for something special for myself, your parents, mine, or our friends, but you would do it." 

Pansy smile grew wider at this point. “There is that, but I could also use the money to cripple my uncles business, and the shame him out of this country.”

Hermione chuckled at this point. “Well there is that, and you would also offer your cousins a safe place to live.”

"That is if Jeffery didn't find a way to get me arrested for kidnapping them," Pansy said dryly.

“Well you could just go to the DMLE before that, and inform them of what was going on and why.” Daphne said almost coldly. Once she had been told of the way Pansy had been treated by her uncle Daphne swore that she would find a way to get that bastard thrown in jail.

“Can we just move to nicer things please.” Harry said almost in a state of despair.

"Fine, but we are not talking about quidditch again. We are also not talking about the damn Wizengamot meeting two weeks ago either." Hermione said this rather coldly. Since she had been to only one meeting since receiving her seat Hermione was required to go to a couple of seasons to learn the way things worked: how to approach the body with a law change, and in what format a new law must be constructed. That meeting was supposed to be no different than the first time she was before the Wizengamot. She was asked by Greengrass to show up before the season started, and they were supposed to be done before the season started. She had to show up a couple of hours before the meeting, so she could set up a time to learn the ins and outs of the Parliament like body. While it was a court of law in cases of treason or excessive dark magic they were primarily the lawmakers of the Wizarding UK. Like the muggle government, it was divided in two. The House of Magi was like the House of Lords, but with much few members. This was a holdover from when the Wizarding Word was still connected to the Muggle world. While they still held the titles they were merely symbolic. She still had to go to the College of Arms in the Ministry once more to run her blood test a second time. This one was a more in-depth breakdown of her bloodline. The fact that it was Lucius Malfoy bringing this matter up was irritating. She knew that her mum wanted to save this bastard, but why was beyond her understanding.

Just thinking about the man brought to her mind in full clarity her first real actions as a member of the Wizengamot, and what disruption it had brought to certain factions.

* * *

 

Hermione was walking around in her office in the Wizengamot. The Chief Warlock was supposed to be there to introduce her to the individual who would be giving her these lessons. However, this was supposed to happen about thirty minutes ago. This was abnormal. The Headmaster was normally a timely man, and she assumed so was Lord Greengrass. It wouldn't surprise her if Nott's father was trying to get her stripped of this title and then kicked out of the Magical UK. Just the thought of that made her worried. The sound of a knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts. She told the person they could enter. As the door opened she looked towards it. Standing in the doorway was Albus Dumbledore, Lord Greengrass, and Amelia Bones. The looks on their faces were not good ones, and that was being generous in regards to the way Madam Bones right now. Hermione felt that if there was a piece of parchment between them it would have lit a flame with no problem.

“Is something wrong Madam Bones?” Hermione asked with a little bit worry in her voice.

“Mr Malfoy is wanting to be the one who instructs you instead of Lord Greengrass.” Madam Bones said with this look of destain. “I also think he is the one who informed members of the Wizengamot about what was revealed during your blood test.”

“It was him or Madam Umbridge that did that Amelia,” Dumbledore said with a sombre voice. “I know that you won't be angry with them, but they will try and use this to their advantage. I would suggest that you keep calm. They were wanting to hold this vote without you, but that was denied just now. So now they will more than likely try and convince a majority of Wizenagmot that this is the best course of action. So, you will have to be a sound voice against this. I wish there was time to teach you how to handle this, but the bill was only brought before the clerk this morning, and given that it had its proper signatures it will be brought up before the other bills considering it will directly affect how they are voted upon today.”

Hermione had to think about this for a moment, and the ideas from a lifetime ago drifted to the surface. This caused she started to smile. She had only briefly thought of her life as a 'politician' in Atlantis, but that life may be exactly what she needed right now. "I understand Chief Warlock Dumbledore." Hermione smiled at the man before she turned to the other two. "Lord Greengrass, I was wondering if there might be a way to arrange a way for us to call into question Malfoy's reasoning behind this adjustment to the law?"

The man raised an eyebrow at this point. He looked over at Madam Bones. The two stared at one another for a moment before he looked back at Hermione. “Of course there is, but that would require you to learn that process before the session in thirty minutes.”

"That is fine Lord Greengrass. I will take the time to learn this, and then with yours or Madam Bones help work up that parchment work to challenge the change." She looked over to Dumbledore. "Sir, do you think there is any way that  _you_ can delay this hearing for say an extra twenty to thirty minutes?”

The twinkle in the man's eyes grew at this point. "Why yes, Lady Granger I think I can. May I ask you one of these days how you know to do these things?"

Hermione looked at the old man like he was some kind of unknown creature. She knew the man probably knew about the things she and Pansy had talked to their friends about. This, of course, bugged her, but that also meant that he knew about Magnus as well. She then looked at the other two, and to say they looked concerned would be a gross understatement. Hermione wanted to keep this information limited, but she also knew she would need an alias. So, they would need to know the whole story, and they might be able to keep this secret.

"I would be more than willing to share that information with the three of you, but I implore you this information needs to stay with you. What it will reveal is a far darker threat than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ever could be. I know this seems far fetched, but sadly it is not." The sombre tone in her voice made the room feel colder to Hermione.

“That is a bold statement Lady Granger.” Madam Bones said with more than a hint of concern. “Do you know of the rise of a new Dark Lord?”

Hermione shook her head. "No ma'am, more like the return of a war-hungry wizard with the skills to back his mouth up. Yes, he is/was what you would call a 'Dark Lord', but he would never stoop so low that he would call himself that."

“Return?” Lord Greengrass asked. “How is this possible?”

Hermione sighed. 'Mother, how much am I allowed to tell them?' Hermione knew this probably wouldn't be answered, but she could always hope.

'As much as you feel comfortable with, but if they know everything this may cause others to surface, and not all of them will be your enemies.' The calm voice of her mother brought peace to her mind. 'The problem is making them understand that you are not crazy.'

'I know.' Hermione sighed. “I am more than willing to let all of you know what is going on, but that would involve you trusting what I am telling you. Another problem is the only proof I have are memories, and supporting memories from Pansy.”

There was a long silence between them. Dumbledore was scratching his beard while the other two were just looking between themselves and Hermione. It was Dumbledore who spoke next. “I have a way for you to do this Lady Granger. I think this should take place after the Wizengamot meeting and training today. I will go and delay things. I shall leave you three to get this matter under way.”

"Thank you Chief Warlock Dumbledore," Hermione said as she looked over at Lord Greengrass and Madam Bones. "Now what do I need to do?"

The three of them spent the next twenty minutes going over what kind of form Hermione would need to draft up to put this man in his place. They had been working on it for five minutes when a giant white phoenix entered the room. It was Dumbledore's voice that came from it. “I have gained us forty minutes. It seems that Mr Malfoy is currently having a problem with his abdomen. It seems that Mr Malfoy breakfast is not sitting well with him.”

Once this was said the phoenix vanished. Hermione looked over to the other two. "Well, that's both good and disturbing. I  _really_ don't want to know about Malfoy. My mother seems to think he can be saved, but that would take a huge change in thinking." 

'They don't need to know that.' Her mother's voice had this small chuckle to it. 'And it is more a chance for Draco to save himself. It is one thing to lose to you, and another thing to lose to his own son. Ronald Weasley may take him as a follower after this. No, I will never call him by that name. I know it is his soul, but in my mind, he never earned the chance to be reborn.'

'Agreed.' Hermione turned back to Madam Bones. "Okay, so I may or may not be in trouble for that one." Hermione said as she could feel her cheeks warm up a little. "Okay, so we are using an accusation of corruption and attempts at falsifying information?"

“Yes,” Lord Greengrass said with a smile. “We want him having to dance around like his feet are on fire. Now the wording has to be exact. Even the slightest error will give him the room he needs to slip right through your hands.”

Hermione then took the time to write the inquiry about the change in her tutelage. She also wanted to ask why he would first test her through the pro-pureblood law that was brought forward during her first meeting as a member of the Wizenagmot. Madam Bones pointed out that she might not want to be so heavy-handed in the inquiry itself in this section. Hermione nodded and then used a spell to remove the ink. She then rewrote the inquiry reducing this section, and moving on to the part why it should be Mr Malfoy doing the tutelage instead of the prearranged Lord Greengrass. The final thing she added was that if anything this motion should be denied because she had her doubts that Malfoy would teach her properly based on his previous actions with her. It was at this point that Mr Greengrass voiced his concern. 

“What previous interaction have you and Mr Malfoy prior to your meeting in the blood testing?” Greengrass asked more than a little concerned.

“On the 19th of August in 2002 while shopping for school supplies." Hermione said calmly while thinking back to that day. "While at the Flourish and Blots Mr Malfoy was talking to myself and a group of my friends. During his 'conversation' with Harry, the man looked over at my parents and me then back at Mr Weasley. Malfoy then called him a disgrace to wizarding kind because of who he hung out with.”

Madam Bones and Lord Greengrass looked shocked at this point. “This wasn't your biological mother was it?” Greengrass asked.

Hermione shook her head vehemently. “No.” She then sighed at this. She didn't want to know what her mum would do if the bastard had done that. She could almost guarantee that it would not be pleasant. “It was my stepmother, but I don't really care that she and I aren't genetically related. She has never treated me unfairly, and never thought me as anything else but her daughter.”

“So he was brazen enough to show his true colours in Flourish and Blotts?” Madam Bones asked. Hermione shook her head in agreeance. “How did no one notice this?”

"They only noticed the after effect which was Mr Weasley getting into a fight with him," Hermione said as she was putting the finishing touches on her Inquiry. "Alright, I think I am done." Hermione then handed over the parchment to Greengrass. The man read the parchment and smiled the further he went down the parchment. He handed it over to Madam Bones. The woman read it faster than Greengrass, and for the first time since she had met the woman. "So I take it this will work?"

"Yes, I like how you ask for the Minister to keep in mind that this would cause any restored family no matter where they come from to undergo training from people they may not like." Madam Bones said almost chuckling. "We will leave this with you, and be on our way." She looked at her watch. "We have fifteen minutes to get dress. We will see you in the legislative courtroom."

"Of course Madam Bones. I will see you both there." Hermione said as they left her office. Hermione turned around and looked at her closet and shook her head. Hermione closed her eyes and thought back to her life as Hecate. She tried to think of what would be the best way to do this. There was a part of her that would love to be able to talk to 'herself' to get some kind of clarity in this matter. At that moment a blinding flash of light filled her vision. The next thing she knew she was standing near a very familiar canal. Looking around she saw the gypsum clay walls, three-story buildings, and place that she had only seen in her dreams. When she turned to look once more at the canal she was staring at a very familiar face. Her nose was slightly different, her eyes were a lighter shade of brown, her jawline was a little more 'pointy', and her form was a little bit more hourglass-like than her own. Yet she KNEW who this was. "Hecate?" 

The woman nodded her head. “Hermione,” the woman said as she chuckled lightly, “...this makes the weird feeling that I was reliving my life. I just hope that I have not given you any dismay during the past few months.”

"You haven't," Hermione said with a slight smile. It was then that she realized she was not speaking in English. "So, do you know what is going on?"

"A little bit." She looked at the house behind Hermione. "I know this is all in your head, but this still feels so real to me." She gestured for Hermione to follow her. "Let us go into my home and talk."

"Sure," Hermione said in an airy voice. She was still shocked that this was happening.

Hermione walked down the road with Hecate. The walked over the bridge into the three-story home that had been behind her. She watched Hecate seal the door with magic. She watched the woman make gestures with her right hand and paid close attention to what the woman was saying. She knew that the gestures she would have to do with her left hand, but knowing this magic might come in handy. Once this was done the woman walked over to a table with a vase on it. She then summoned two cups to her and placed them on the table. Hecate then walked into the kitchen and came out with food Hermione had only seen in her dreams. Seasoned auroch was something she only had in her dreams. Granted this was still in her head, but it would be her eating it now not Hecate.

"I hope this doesn't bother you, Hermione. I know what you are used to, but there is only so much I can cook." Hecate said with a slight smile to her face

"I have no problem with this." Hermione said as she took a seat amazed that there were a plate and utensils there for her already. "So why are we able to do this?" Hermione asked as she poured herself some wine.

“I honestly have no idea, but if I had to guess it is because Maya allowed... is it Ron or Ronald?” Hecate asked.

"Both really, Ronald is his full given name, but Ron is a shortened version," Hermione said as she cut off a piece of the auroch, and put it on to her plate. "Arsehole would do nicely as well."

"Agreed," Hecate said as she ate some of the auroch. Once she swallowed she continued. "Ronald may have been guided how to do this by Maya, and when she got him in full contact with Magnus the older of the two might have overpowered and consumed the other one. This is a guess though."

Hermione was thinking about this, and to avoid saying anything she bit in the food. Her mind was slammed with a taste she had not experienced in centuries. It was somewhere between sweet and bitter, and Hermione wished she could remember who to make this and get the recipe to Harry. Yet at the thought of her friend Hermione remembered why she was here. She chewed and thought about what to say. "What makes you say that?"

"There is the feeling that if I just overpowered you I would be the one in charge of your body, not you, but as you know I would never do such a thing. My time has come and gone. You are with our beloved now, and I would NEVER disrupt that.” Hecate said calmly with a slight smile. “Though you were a bit bold for your 'first time' together than I was.”

Hermione coughed as she was drinking the wine. Once she regained her ability to breath she said. “Well, I umm... felt a little INVERGERATED that's it... when it was happening.” Hermione could feel the blush spreading across her body.

"Oh, we all do at times." Hecate said with a smile. "Now as for what to do in this council meeting I would suggest that you be calm, assertive, and if you need to be abrasive. From your memories, Malfoy is no slouch. He will try and pull you off balance. Do not let him, and use his actions against him."

"Like chess," Hermione said.

"Yes, and to be honest unlike chess do not play fair. If he goes for your 'throat' go for his. He has voted for all of the pro-pureblood laws that have come before the Wizengamot since the fall of this Voldemort, and he has also put forward more pro-human laws in the wizarding world than anyone else before him. He will try and counter this, but don't let up. Remind them that he is the one who seconds Umbridge's bill that limited werewolves capabilities of getting jobs, and in doing so have put the magical community in danger."

Hermione took another bite of the auroch and chewed on it. She thought long and hard on how she could use this. "Right, and when he tries to get out of it. I should remind them that any one of them could get the disease at this point because of that law. I will also remind them that even though he is a werewolf Remus went through great lengths to make sure he didn't hurt the children at school."

Hecate smiled. "Good, and if you need to you should remind them that Lycaon is still out there. Actually, I know you'll use it anyway so you should stress that they fear werewolves that they are to fear it should be him and those like him."

"I think I will use that as a dead last resort." Hermione said with a hint of a blush to her face.

"As you should." Hecate said firmly, but the smile wouldn't leave her face. "Given the lengths that man has tried to stop you from being a part of the government this action does not surprise me. Keep in mind politicians like him will try to make you lose your temper, and even if your magic does go wild he will use it against you." Hecate said before sipping on the wine.

Hermione nodded as she wiped her mouth with a piece of linen. “Thank you I will need to be wary of that kind of behaviour.” She placed the linen on the table. She then looked over at Hecate with a smile on her face. This conversation brought to her mind some of the things she'd been doing since the truth about her past was revealed to Hermione. “I've noticed that since I've become aware of you, and how we are connected that I have stepped away from being a rules follower a little more than normal.”

Hecate chuckled. “I think your friends have more to do with that than I do, but I know I play my part.” She took another sip of the wine. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

Hermione chuckled as she thought of what she wanted to know. “How to make this food would be nice.”

Hecate laughed. “I couldn't tell you how to make the wine because I think you know how to do that.” Hermione smiled broadly and nodded her head. “But I can pass on how to make the meal.” Hecate extended her arm with her handheld with her palm facing Hermione. "Just take my hand and I'll try to pass the knowledge to you." 

Hermione hesitated for a moment before she extends her hand, and gripped Hecate's hands. Hermione could feel a flow of heat between their hands. Hermione then felt like something was brushing across the surface of her mind. She then knew what seasoning she should use, how long she should let the seasoning sink into the meat, and how long she should cook it. It didn't take long for this to come to an end. Once this happened Hermione looked at Hecate and noticed that everything was starting to fade away. She waved farewell to her former life. Once this ended Hermione found herself still standing there looking at her closet. She quickly checked the time and noticed that she still had fifteen minutes to get to the courtroom. She quickly changed into her Wizengamot robes and hat. She then made sure once more all of her things were protected through enchantments. Leaving her Atlantean magic once more as protection on bothering her things, and now her office door to remove the chance of anyone getting further. Once she was satisfied she made her way to Courtroom Six.

It had taken her about six minutes to get there. Once she arrived she noticed that Lord Greengrass and Sirius were standing outside the courtroom waiting for her. She nodded at the two of them before following them into the courtroom. She sat to the left of Sirius while Greengrass sat to her left. Hermione took one look around her and noticed that most of the people sitting around them were more of a Grey leaning lot. She looked around for Malfoy. Even though she found people who had been near Malfoy before she could not find him. So he still had to be suffering from his 'digestive' problems. Hermione then looked over at Dumbledore, and she found the man smiling brightly. With that, she looked over at Madam Bones and was shocked to see the woman smiling and cleaning her monocle. Hermione wondered what Malfoy could have done to make Madam Bones this happy.

A nudge from Sirius grabbed her attention. She looked at him to find him pointing towards the area where Minister Fudge was sitting. It took her a moment to notice why Sirius was doing this, but once she did a chill rand down her spine. The woman who was wearing the pink cardigan was once again wearing her black robes with a pink neck collar. There was something about just that one piece of clothing that made her more than a little unnerving. It was almost like the woman was trying to hide a darker nature underneath this harmless demeanour, and the look she was giving Hermione only confirmed this. How this woman made it this far in the government after the war with Voldemort was a mystery to her. There was always the possibility that she bribed or extorted her way to this position. 'Maybe that's why she and Malfoy are so close.' Hermione thought as she looked away from the vile woman.

It would not have surprised her that it was either this  _woman_ or Malfoy that leaked her true blood status to the  _Daily Prophet._ It had only happened two days ago, and she was finding it really hard to believe that they did it on accident as the article claimed. She was also lucky that the person they released the information to was not Skeeter. That would have been disastrous. The woman would have thrown her under the Knight Bus twice. Thankfully the reporter only felt comfortable saying that a child of Hecate was attending Hogwarts and that they were not lording that over people. In fact, Mr James Thompson had said that the young lady didn't want people treating her any differently. He had talked to Professor McGonagall about the demigoddess that was attending the school. She was rather furious that this had been leaked to the paper, and Hermione would have loved to have been a fly on the while McGonagall talked to the man. "The young demigoddess has just come to an age where it clear that she is a demigoddess. To the best of my knowledge, she has not once used her abilities to harm another student. Nor does she expect special treatment because of this from the staff. She is a stellar student and is doing everything she can to appear normal. If you have also been told who her mother is then you know whoever told you this has a problem with this. I do not think that it is within your best interest to pursue this further." 

The sound of a banging gavel grabbed Hermione's attention. She looked once more to the area where the Minister and Dumbledore sat. Dumbledore looked a little more overjoyed than normal. Hermione looked once more around the room and saw Malfoy sitting next to Crabbe. There was this look of discomfort clear across his face. Hermione was thankful that she could not read a person's mind because she didn't want to know the details about what Malfoy went through. Just seeing him sitting there in a state of discomfort brought a smile to her face.

It was Dumbledore who brought the meeting to order. “Ladies and Gentlemen this is the 50 th meeting of the Wizengamot on August 5 th  of 2004 ." Hermione now noticed that the Minister was looking at her with this look of curiously. It seems that he was lead to believe she would not be here, but his Undersecretary led him to believe she would not be here. This was confirmed when he looked to the toad sitting to his right and whispered to her. Hermione wondered if even after today she would find a way to keep her job. The woman glared at her once more before whispering to Minister Fudge. The next thing Hermione knew the woman was thrown backwards violently. This caused a gasp to echo around the room. Hermione knew she was wanting to do that. The only thing she could think of was Umbridge insulting a HIGHER target than herself. "Is everything alright Madam Umbridge?" Dumbledore asked with this honestly concerned voice. 

The woman stood up and cleared her throat. "Yes, Grand Warlock I am fine." She picked up her chair placing it back where it once sat. "I am just wondering if our youngest member didn't lose control of her magic in this moment. I mean it is the reason they generally have a proxy sitting in their place. Which makes me wonder if either of the gentleman beside her felt anything." The sweet tone to her voice was sickening, and Hermione knew at this moment the woman was trying to bait her into doing something. She was thankful that she could rely on her on Hecate's years of politics to realise this.

It was Lord Greengrass that answered the question. "Madam Umbridge I can assure you that I felt no outburst of magic near me. I am starting to wonder if you and Mr Malfoy called this meeting to take control of Lady Granger's voting rights. I am also wondering if it wasn't you at this point who leaked the information about her  _true_ blood status to the  _Daily Prophet_ . Do you honestly think that doing this will her inferiority to you?" He then looked over at Malfoy. "The same could be said for you as well Mr Malfoy." He then looked at Hermione. "My Lady, I can assure you that you have the support of House Greengrass in this matter." 

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass, and please it is Lady Granger. I know who my biological mother is, but there is nothing I seek to gain because of it." Hermione cracked a sly smile at the man.

The man smiled back at her slightly. “I was assuming as such Lady Granger. Now as for you Madam Umbridge why do you think it was Lady Granger that did this to you?”

The woman scowled at the man. The tone in which she spoke more than said she didn't like where this was going. "I am not saying she did this deliberately, but given her age, it is a POSSIBILITY that she could do it in a moment of teenage... misconduct."

Hermione sighed at this point, but before she could say anything Sirius spoke. "Listen to Toad I don't know what you're getting at, but from what I know about the young lady from my godson I don't think she is the kind to just lose control when it suits her." He cackled at this point and looked at her with this predatory look in his eyes before looking back at Umbridge. "Madam Umbridge from what I have heard from my girlfriend that you openly demanded the full name of a goddess, and in response, her daughter put you in your place. Keep in mind Madam though you may be a  _pure-blood_ there is a HUGE difference between a deity and human. So, if you want to poke this bear you will be doing it alone because I don't think there is a soul in this room who wants to help you do it.”

This, of course, caused a soft whisper to spread across the room. Those closest to her looked at Hermione with this look of curiosity. Hermione could feel a few of them place a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was at this point that Dumbledore picked up where he left off. "I think that resolves that matter. Now, this meeting is being called to change the law regarding the tutelage of newly reinstated ancient families into our society. Would Mr Malfoy like to bring before the Wizengamot the change to the law he and Madam Umbridge think are necessary."

As the man stood up Hermione noticed a state of discomfort as his robes moved around him. This caused her to smile. The man's silky voice filled the air. "Ladies and Gentlemen I would like you to consider that perhaps the tutor of the newly reinstated house should not be chosen amongst their closest 'family' in regards to their lineage. It would cause a slight bias in regards to the way things operate. The last thing we need is one person to gain complete control of such an individual. We need them to have a  _broader_ understanding of our world. If for example Ms Granger...”

At that moment a woman to her left screamed out. "That would be Lady Granger, Madam Granger, or Your Grace to you Malfoy. Your family lost its noble standing during Queen Elizabeth the first reign in 1562 for treason. You are lucky that one of Barnabus Malfoy's son was too young to execute."

This caused Malfoy to glare at the woman. "I am so sorry Lady Kempston. I will try to respect Lady Granger's true standing from this point onward." He looked around the room once more. "I think it would be within our best interest to make sure they have a better understanding of our world than the slighted view this would cause. That is why Madam Umbridge and I chose to make these much need advancements in this law. This would also change how it is done. The person who would be doing the tutelage should be chosen at random by a high ranking member of the Ministry. In this case, it has been done by Madam Umbridge and I was the one chosen to..."

It was at this point that Hermione was tapped on her shoulder by Greengrass. They had discussed how she would interrupt Malfoy's presentation. Neither of them wanted it to be timed for a specific point, and they didn't want to to do it at the end either. So they had chosen to wait for the right moment in his presentation to do it. Had he not done this she might have waited too long, but this was too good of a moment to pass up.

Hermione slowly rose to her feet. "Mr Malfoy I think that is enough. It is clear to me and my associates that you and Madam Umbridge are doing this to discredit me, or misinform me so that make of fool of myself in the Wizengamot. I bring before this hearing an inquiry regarding this adjustment to our laws. It would seem now that a portion of the new law has already been violated should it come to pass."

Umbridge rose to her feet, and in her 'gentle' voice asked: "How has the law been violated Madam Granger?"

Hermione glared at the  _thing._ Hermione noticed a clerk running towards this moment. "If the person is to be chosen at random then how is it that Mr Malfoy got the assignment to tutor me before the law is even passed." She looked around the room. She noticed that she had the undivided attention of everyone. She pulled out the roll of parchment she had. She handed it to the clerk who ran it up to the Minister. "I bring this inquiry mainly because it is Mr Malfoy who tried to interject himself into my lineage test. He brought an 'Ancestry test parchment' to the room where I was to be tested here in the Ministry. To the best of my knowledge, he doesn't even work for that department." Hermione noticed a few people sitting next to the man were now staring at him. "He is not the only one that tried to force me to use that parchment though. His co-author of this law tried to convince the official of this test to let me use it to 'confirm' the results. She seems to be of the mind since I am half-human that she can just demand the full name of my mother. Something I don't think even  _I_ have the right to know.”

At the end of this Hermione was having to raise her voice because everyone else in the room was screaming in outrage. Either they were screaming at her, Malfoy, or Umbridge. Those that seemed to be wanting her ejection were sitting near Malfoy, but they were clearly outweighed by everyone else. The rest were almost evenly divided. Most wanted to have Umbridge placed under Veritaserum, others wanted Malfoy under the Unbreakable Vow, to tell the truth. It took a few minutes to get the Wizengamot under control. Hermione took this time to look at those near the Toad. Most were trying to inch their way away from her. Even Minister Fudge looked a little uncomfortable sitting next to her.

Once the room was quiet Hermione picked up where she left off. "I do not know their reasoning for this change in law, but I am wondering if it is based on unspoken bigotry." A softer murmur went around the room after she said this. She glanced over at Umbridge and found the woman glaring at her. She was mumbling something, but Hermione could feel no magic being laid upon her. So, this bitch had to plan a rebuttal at this moment. She would have to keep an eye on this woman there was a good chance she could keep her position after this.

One of the men near Malfoy stood up, and in a very ragged voice asked "Madam is there a reason you are wanting to have an inquiry of both of them. The way it was explained to me Madam Umbridge is the one who came up with the bill."

Hermione cleared her throat. "It has to do with Mr Malfoy being the one that would be teaching me. He and I don't get along that well, sir. Mr Malfoy has stated before that I was a person unworthy to associate with while talking to Arthur Weasley. Mr Malfoy even looked at my Muggle parents as he said this. I doubt that a man who thinks my up bring makes me unworthy for the wizard to associate with. I don't think intentions behind this bill are acceptable by a majority of our standards, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that I would be given faulty information. This is why sir, I think Mr Malfoy should be part of the inquiry."

Hermione had said all of this as calmly and dryly as she could. One look around the room she knew that she had a lot of people interested in what she had said. Even the Minister seemed interested. He had also inched himself away from Umbridge that he had been. The woman herself looked livid. She knew the woman wouldn't say what she truly thought about Hermione right now, but she might do something that Hermione could take advantage of. Almost as if it were speaking Cronus' name the woman opened her mouth without thinking.

"Young lady I will have you know that this bill like many of the ones I've brought before the Wizengamot is to make sure we as a culture do better than other less civilized society, and they have kept  _lesser people access to our world limited_ ," Umbridge said with an enraged voice. 

“Would one of these lesser people be werewolves?” Sirius said with a smile on his face.

"Those vile monsters do not deserve to be in our society. This is what keeps us safe!" Umbridge screamed back at him. "If you will remember one of your FRIENDS has this conditions. He was also a teacher and as I said could have harmed one of the students." Umbridge realized at that moment she had revealed her true thoughts about werewolves. She then cleared her voice. Her face once again took on this prideful look as she continued. "I am sorry my agitation about this matter seems to have gotten the better of me." She cleared her throat and looked at Hermione. "We know that he could have harmed any one of the students had he not exiled himself on the nights of the full moon. This law I made makes it safer for us all by making sure those things can only get jobs somewhere  _safe_ for us all." She placed her hand to her chest. "This applies to this law as well. I am failing to see the need for an inquiry about it. Unless Ms... I mean Lady Granger has a better understanding of how laws should be altered or even when. Perhaps she might even be able to Mr Lupin with his lycanthropy. If not then there is no need to bring this up at the moment." She once again smiled around the room. 

While this caused Hermione to smile she didn't gloat long. She countered in a calm sombre voice. "Madam Umbridge I think you fail to understand what you have done in both these cases. In the case of myself, YOU are ensuring that I am placed under the guidance of someone who does not like me. This is almost ensuring that I won't learn anything." She thought about this for a moment before she continued. "It also might give you and Malfoy the time to concoct some incorrect information regarding myself to bring before the Wizengamot. As for the second law you mentioned. It brings more harm than it is intended to provide. It makes no sense to limit the employment capabilities of werewolves who do not break the law or spread the condition around. If you want to fear a werewolf then fear Fenrir Greyback, or better yet fear Lycaon himself. The first werewolf is still out there somewhere, and if he attacks the odds of survival are not that high. I know everyone in this room knows that I am a demigoddess thanks to the  _Daily_ Prophet, but if my mother is real so is he. I bring this up because Umbridge is saying she is trying to keep people safe, but she, in reality, she isn't. Without a job, no one with lycanthropy can afford the potion that makes their condition liveable and safe." 

Malfoy screamed his response in frustration. “You are probably just trying to get that thing his job back!”

"No Mr Malfoy I am just pointing out that what you are doing is counterproductive," Hermione said calmly. "I KNOW you think the muggle world is beneath you, but in the muggle world, such laws are a violation of the law. Such discrimination is not only unconscionable it is also viewed as immoral. To think the muggle world has gone farther than you in this area is shocking to me. Yes, the muggle world is struggling with homosexual rights at the moment, and that we are not is a good thing." Hermione knew she was outing herself, but if this helped Remus she would gladly take this jump of faith. "Yet here mistreating someone because of their medical condition is okay, or thinking less of them because of their blood status. I fail to see how we can be so backwards in these areas if we are better in areas the muggles are still struggling with. Unless you are Lycaon being a werewolf is a disease. I am not saying it can be cured, but we know it can be treated. If these two want to put us in danger how can we trust them to make such drastic changes to a minor law that is nearly flawless? This change to the law has no merit, and is needless." Hermione said softly but sternly. Every eye in the room was on her at this moment. 

Hermione sat back down and looked over at Greengrass who had a wide smile on his face. Within a few seconds, the whole Wizengamot was talking amongst themselves. Once she sat down some people were wanting to talk to her about this, but this was called to an end by Minister Fudge banging a gavel onto the sound block. He had to do this a couple of times before the room fell silent. "I can understand your concerns Lady Granger." The room was once again filled with whispers. They were not loud enough to disrupt the conclusion of this session. "I would like to call a short recess so that Mr Malfoy and Madam Umbridge can be sequestered, and we can search their offices to find any information that may be relevant."

At this point, two Magical Law Enforcement patrol officers walked up beside the two being called into questioning. Hermione watched them surrender their wands, and be escorted outside of the room. Hermione was escorted out of the room by Sirius and Lord Greengrass. They led her to a larger room with a table with beverages and food in the centre The sound of people talking around her let her know that they would not be here alone. Lady Kempston took the time to walk up to Hermione and introduced herself.

“Lady Granger it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I know that you are new to this, but I am pleased that you handled those two with the manor of a professional stateswoman.” Kempston shook her hand vigorously. “I don't know where you got the idea to guide those two the way you did, but congratulation. More than one of us,” the woman gestured to those gathered in the room “...think that woman has caused us nothing but grief when trying to deal with the Minister. Not that he does much, but having that road blocked can be more than a little annoying.”

Hermione took a cup of water. “What do you mean?”

An elderly gentleman to the left of Lady Kempston extended his hand. Hermione shook it as he explained. "She has a tendency of disregarding you if you do not have something she is interested in. What really brings her ire is you not being a pure-blood. I have a nephew who is trying to advance his career here at the Ministry, but Umbridge keeps finding reasons to prevent him from advancing beyond cleric. He is thinking about quitting, and going to work with the goblins. The last refusal was because he didn't file your family and blood-type classification 'correctly'." Given the look on the man's face, Umbridge had tried another way to keep her from being here and failed. "The only thing that kept him employed was Madam Bones barging into the office demanding to know why Umbridge was calling for your arrest that stopped her."

Hermione almost gagged on the water. “What!?”

At this point, Madam Bones made herself known. "The woman was saying you had somehow forged your blood test, that you had created a new dark spell, and that you had attacked a fellow student." Bones grabbed a crape. "She wouldn't have made it past the Minister. It's one thing to arrest a werewolf, but to treat a demigoddess the way she was attempting to is more than a little questionable. She was hoping that Cornelius would go with her about your arrest. I had looked into it, and the only person involved in the investigation was Umbridge. I don't know why she has taken this personal vendetta against you. It seems that it is whatever happened in your blood test procedure."

Hermione scoffed at this. "I can tell you what that was." It was at this point that Hermione noticed that the crowd around her had grown larger. "I had called into question the parchment Malfoy was wanting me to use, and the person that deals with lineage testing told her that the parchment Malfoy was wanting me to use was flawed. She then demanded to know my mother's surname," Hermione started to blush at this point. "...and I kind of lost my temper. I told her she had no right to demand such a thing. Since you all know, thanks to her or Malfoy, that I am demigoddess I guess I should tell you her name. I am the daughter of Lady Hecate goddess of magic," at this point, there was a sharp gasp coming from those around Hermione. She winced at this, she didn't like the idea of having to say this, but she knew Umbridge would be revealing this in her trial. "...and my line from her went all the way back to Chaos. So as I told her she was in error my magic whipped up in a gale, and I was pushing everyone in the room but myself around."

"So , the only reason any of this is being told to us..." A gentleman with blonde hair asked.

Hermione sighed. “Because someone told the  _Daily Prophet_ that there is a demigoddess going to Hogwarts. I wouldn't be telling you this otherwise. Whoever did this seems to think that they will get people worked up into a furry about it, and I will be chased out of the country. I cannot guarantee that Umbridge won't bring this up in her hearing." 

Another gentleman spoke up at this point. “That's absurd! I may worship your mother, but I would not try and chase an actual Greek demigoddess out of this country. The stories about what you can do make it extremely unlikely that it would end well for us.”

Hermione shook her head. “I am not saying I CAN'T be beaten, but if I am not doing anything wrong I cannot see it ending well for you. Nothing may happen immediately, but to say that nothing will happen is a mistake.”

"Yes, I can see several worst-case scenarios that might come of doing that." A woman with grey hair and blue eyes said.

Hermione took one of the crapes. “So can I, but again I don't think you need to fear them. It would take a complete change in the government to make me have to go on the run. If I have to do that I know of more than one place to stay safe.” Hermione started eating the crape.

“Where would you go?” Lady Kempston asked a bit shocked.

Hermione shook her head. “I wish I could tell, but I am not able to do so. I can just tell you that it is somewhere that I would be safer than if I was staying at Avalon.”

“That's a bold statement.” Sirius said.

“You could ask my sister about this, and she will tell you the same thing.” Hermione said just before taking a bite of the crape.

“Is it under the Fadilus Charm?” Lord Greengrass asked.

Hermione shook her head. “I don't really know, but whatever protects that locations is a powerful magic spell because it is centuries old. Many, many more centuries than Avalon that I do know. It is a place that I would have no problem staying if I had no other choice, and my mortal mother and father would be with me as well.”

The sound of a brazen voice caused Hermione to look to her left. "What about your girlfriend?"

Hermione turned to look at the man. Her blood pressure at that moment shot through the roof. Jeffery Parkinson was standing there looking at her like she was just a mere insect. She could feel her eyes shifting colour at this moment. The man had the bollocks to show up here today knowing he would be on trial soon. The smirk on his face made her want to snap the man in two. "She would be with me as well. Parkinson just so you know if you lay one hand on her you will have to worry about the same army of people."

“Why?” Jeffery asked almost aghast that she was so certain it would happen.

"I cannot tell you fully, but I can tell you it is a life debt they owe us. One I hope I never have to call on." Hermione said after taking a sip of water trying to calm down. "The fact that you think you are going to get away with what you've done is appalling."

"Agreed." Lady Kempston said firmly. "Leave Parkinson this room is not for your ilk."

“I will be on my way. I was just going to let you know that Pansy will be coming home for the Christmas Break.” Parkinson said firmly.

"No, she won't." The stern sound of Dumbledore's voice made a chill run down Hermione's spine. Everyone turned to look at him, and the glare the old wizard was giving the younger man made Hermione glad that she was not its focus. "It is my duty to protect the student body from such harm. For that reason, I will never allow Ms Pansy Parkinson to return to a location where you or wife are. Now leave." Jeffery looked around at all the people who had their wands drawn. He glared on last time at Hermione then walked out of the room. Hermione looked to Dumbledore once again. The old man watched Parkinson leave the room. He sighed before turning back to everyone else. "I just came to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to return. You may take the time to freshen up, and then head back to the courtroom."

Everyone nodded and started walking out of the room. Hermione started walking towards the door, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked over her shoulder and found Sirius was holding her shoulder. It seemed like neither he, Madam Bones, nor Lord Greengrass was moving. Once everyone else had cleared out Albus walked up to her, but he was beaten to asking anything by Sirius.

“Were you serious about having a location you could not talk about that would be safe for you?” Sirius looked both scared and curious.

Hermione nodded and looked at the four of them. “Yes, and this has to do with what I want to show the three of you.” She gestured to Madam Bones, Dumbledore, and Greengrass. “Sirius you are more than welcome to it as well. Circe isn't needed she already knows about this I'm sure.”

Dumbledore looked more than a little curious at this point. “I take it this has to do with you learning that foreign magic?”

“Yes,” Hermione said firmly. “I can say no more here other than what I know poses no threat to the Ministry or the Magical United Kingdom.”

“So, it just so happens that you are a demigoddess, and have a group of people indebted to you?” Madam Bones asked.

“More like the later led to the former. That's a guess though.” Hermione said softly.

'Not a bad one.' Her mother said to her. 'This is the reward you were given by fate and the burden of it.'

Hermione nodded before saying. “I need to go freshen up.”

"Of course," Dumbledore said.

“You know where to sit right?” Greengrass asked.

"Yes, sir." Hermione said.

"It's actually Charles." The man smiled at her. "Now we will see in the courtroom."

Hermione nodded and walked out of the room. She walked down the hallway to the lavatory. She walked in took care of natures call. After washing her hands she walked back to the courtroom. She walked up to the courtroom and noticed that Umbridge was lead down another hallway. She hoped that Malfoy was already in his holding cell. She had to shake her mind of these thoughts and make her way into the courtroom. She walked to the third set of stairs on the right-hand side, she then walked up the stairs to the fourth row, and once again sat between Charles and Sirius. It took another couple of minutes for everyone to show up. Once this was done the Minster brought the season back into order. The first one they brought out was Lucius Malfoy. The man didn't look pleased with all about the situation he found himself in. He was lead to a chair, and he was asked if he wanted to take a vow, or take Veritaserum. It took the man a long time to make a decision. He chose to take the truth serum. He was given the three drops and then was asked to sit in the chair. Hermione didn't know if they were doing this because she was the target of the law, or if it was the possibility of any one of their descendants falling prey to this bullshite. She honestly didn't care which of these two that was driving this forward because right now she needs to show these two she was not a weak mouse.

It was Madam Bones who asked the first question. "Mr Malfoy, what was your OWLs score for Transfigurations?" It was at this point that Hermione noticed that the head of the DMLE was holding a piece of parchment.

At this moment the man seemed to be struggling with something, but in the end, he responded in a monotone voice. "I received an Exceeds Expectations much to my dismay."

Madam Bones looked over to the Minister and nodded. It was Fudge who asked the next question. “Lucius my friend, why did you help Madam Umbridge write up this law change?”

Hermione was wondering if Malfoy was surrendering to the potion or doing his best to fake it working. “I thought Madam Umbridge was trying to keep our world safe. After what Lady Granger did during her blood test I knew she had to be controlled.”

"What did she do?" asked a man with thick blue-rimmed glasses.

"She entered through the testing room by walking right through the door. It was not a heavily protected door, but it still worried me that a mud-blood would be capable of such magic." There were gasps going around the room. This was followed by a volley of vocal outrage aimed at Malfoy. It took a while for the Minister to bring the room back into order. "I was also thinking that this might expose her as a fraud that I thought she was." There was a soft murmur around the room about this. The two men sitting next to her had rather colourful words for Malfoy. "I had talked with a friend in the College of Arms to make a 'modified' testing parchment that would say that she was the child of Mr Granger and a whore."

Hermione's temper at this moment was skyrocketing. She knew that this probably wouldn't bode well for those around her, but at the moment she just hoped that this didn't get too bad. Thankfully the only thing she could feel was a slight breeze starting around her arms. Charles leaned in and whispered to her. "Calm down. This may be an attempt on their part to make you look unbalanced. Keep in mind that even though you are a daughter of magic you do not want these people scared of you."

Hermione closed her eyes and took a moment to calm herself. She breathed in and out a couple of times. She tried to think of things that she found soothing. Most of them involved Pansy, Crookshanks, and Rexa. She was thankful that the rest of the Wizengamot was at that moment in an uproar over what they had just been told. Once Dumbledore had brought the courtroom into the order they continued with the questioning.

"Mr Malfoy, why are you so interested in making sure Lady Granger is not a member of this Wizenagmot?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't think it wise to have a person who knows so little of the world being allowed to be a permanent member of the Wizengamot. When Madam Umbridge asked me to help her with a law change to remove Granger from our world I jumped at it. I saw it as a boon for us. We remove an upstart muggle raised half-breed, and expel a potential threat from our world." This caused an even louder ruckus, but Malfoy raised his voice so he could be heard. "Yet, like the last time, I tried to prevent this from happening she has worked her way around it. She somehow saw right through complex magic. I know of no magical ability amongst wizardkind that would allow this. I was working on a law change of my own when Umbridge came to me with this one. Her law was seemed more effective in its simplicity. We both knew that Minister Fudge would never back it considering Granger's mother was proven to be Lady Hecate the goddess of magic. So, the two of us worked on the law since March working out all the possible ways that Granger could choose someone other than myself as her mentor." He then looked right over at Hermione. She could see his face that well, but she knew the man had to be glaring at her. "Now it has been disregarded because of the concerns of a minor."

Hermione didn't know whether the man was trying to push all the blame on Umbridge, or that he might actually be affected by the potion. She looked over at Sirius and Charles. She didn't know if she could question him, so she leaned over towards Charles. “Can I ask him a question?”

The man nodded his head. “Yes, but keep it relevant to the inquiry. As tempting as it may be we cannot ask him about his loyalty to You-Know-Who.”

Hermione looked back to Malfoy. "Mr Malfoy, is there any other reason you are not wanting me to be a member of the Wizengamot?"

He was silent for a long time. He seemed to be fighting the serum, but he was apparently losing this fight. "I do not like the idea that another vote that could stop me from making it easier to suppress the muggle-born, and half-breeds like you. If they gain too much power what makes our world great will be challenged."

Hermione didn't know whether it was this callous statement or his stupidity that had caused the Wizenagmot to go silent, but she knew the silence wouldn't last. She knew that he might not get kicked out of the Wizengamot, but this would make it harder for him to do things that made him look like a saint. He had given thousands of galleons to St. Mungo's recently, and he was hailed a hero in the  _Daily Prophet_ for it. Not long after thinking this the room once again erupted in furry. Hermione looked around the room and found that there were a few people sitting around her that was more than a little uncomfortable. She knew she couldn't cast everyone Malfoy dealt with under the same light of suspicion. If she wanted to gain ground politically here she may have to throw out a lifeline to people, and she might not like all of them she was about to 'save'. 

Once the Minister got the Wizengamot under order once again Hermione raised her hand to stop Chief Warlock Dumbledore from saying anything. When the man nodded her way she spoke in a calm monotone voice. "Mr Malfoy does everyone that you have associated within this room hold this same viewpoint?" Even though she knew this was needed her stomach wasn't sitting so well right now.

“No.”

“So, it was just you and Dolores Umbridge that had the intention to keep Lady Granger out of this Wizengamot?” The way the Minister asked this sounded like he was happy. Hermione knew the man was somewhat of an idiot, but she didn't think he was stupid enough to try and out a demigoddess. He might challenge one if he thought she challenged his job, but Hermione was too young to do that.

“Yes, I had talked to my allies regarding it, but none of them wanted to be part of the actual writing of the bill. I am assuming it is because of the reasons brought up by the half-breed and her allies.”

While the Wizengamot may have been 'noisy' at his stupidity before the word to best describes them now was deafening. It took about forty minutes to quiet the chamber. Once this was done Albus Dumbledore voice did not carry its usual happy go lucky tone. "Mr Malfoy was getting Lady Granger removed from the Wizengamot your only goal?"

“No.”

"What else could you intended Mr Malfoy?" Hermione's eyes were drawn to this man's voice. He sounded rather stately compared to anyone else who spoke during this hearing. Hermione looked at the man. He was wearing a black pair of Wizengamot robes, and a black bowler hat. Had it not been for his grey hair Hermione might have confused him for a Hitler impersonator. His short moustache was neatly trimmed, and what little she could see of his hair seemed well manicured.

"I was not kidding before when I said I wanted you removed from our world. I also want any more of your kind removed from our world as well. We do not need you. We have done well without divine intervention." The hate in the man's voice made Hermione aware that the potion might be wearing off. "I doubt that her mother slept with a muggle just to help us. If you think about it all the other 'heroes' in Ancient Greece were destructive as much as they were constructive."

There was a definite chill in the air after Malfoy said this. Hermione knew it wasn't coming from her because the chill was making her uncomfortable as well. “I think that is enough.” Minister Fudge said with a shaky voice.

The Magical Patrol officer gave Malfoy the three drops to end the effects of Veritaserum. Once this was done the man looked over at Hermione, and the malice in his eyes was clear to see even from this distance. “Ms Granger I want you to know that I personally do not trust you. You come from two things so foreign to our world that I can't in good faith trust you.”

Hermione just shook her head. She thought back to her previous life to come up with a way to spin this. After a few moments, she built a pathway to gaining allies and making Malfoy's true colours shine brightly. "I am not looking for your trust Malfoy. I am looking to get an education, and then find my place in this world. I have no intention to destroy the society that now surrounds me. Do some parts of it need improving? Yes, but all societies have that. The muggle one is no better." Hermione looked at the Minister. "Minster Fudge I will not say that I am seeking some form of retribution because of this. I do not want Mr Malfoy's punishment to be unjust. He may have wronged me, but he did not try to kill me so extreme measures aren't necessary."

She looked over to Charles to find the man had this coy smile on his face. As she sat down he said "Well done. You let everyone know you are not unreasonable, but you also let them know you are not the thing they may have been fearing. Nor do you appear weak at the moment, but don't think they won't test."

"Of course it's politics," Hermione said with a smile. "Thank you, Lord Greengrass." Hermione said as breathed a sigh of relief.

“No, thank you Lady Granger.” Charles said with a smile of his own.

Hermione listened as Albus asked the body what they wanted to do with Mr Malfoy. He said they could do one of three things. The first was to cast him out of the Wizengamot and hold a new House of Sorcerers election after the World Cup. The second thing was to charge him with harassment based on the targeted nature of the law. The final thing he could think of them doing was suspending his voting rights, and holding a second inquiry into his actions as a Death Eater. When he asked people to cast their votes on the first option Hermione held up her wand and voted for the action. She noticed that Sirius did not, but Charles did. On the next vote, Hermione voted in the negative. Even though she felt this was her best chance at making the man pay financially for what he had done she knew this would only make her look petty. On the third option, Hermione was surprised that only a few people voted in the positive. She knew that most of them were probably not wanting to revisit those dark days, but they could also be real victims of such an act and didn't want their own actions questioned again. Once everything was tallied the first two options were passed. There was then another twenty minutes where the body argued on how the actions should move forward. Hermione stayed out of this. She didn't know the importance of the days' everyone was wanting to use. She knew she would not be able to be here for any day that she was in school, and she knew they would not want to hold this hearing on the weekend. It was decided that the proceedings would be held on August 12 th . The trial would take place in Courtroom Ten. They were to first find out how bad the case of harassment was, and that Hermione could not be part of judgment votes, but she was allowed to be present for the hearing. Malfoy was told that he could no longer show up when the Wizengamot was called into the season and that he was to clear out his office. He was also banned from running for office ever again. 

Once Malfoy had left the room they were given an hour break for lunch. Hermione cast the Tempus spell. It was now 12:35. She was here longer than she was supposed to be. She didn't know if her parents were at home for lunch, but she knew Pansy would be freaking out right about now. As they were getting up Hermione asked if they were allowed to go to Diagon Alley for lunch. The two men laughed and told her she could go anywhere so long as she was back within an hour. She told them she would be at the Leaky Cauldron. They told her they would meet her there to discuss what they could do next. Hermione agreed with this idea and started walking out of the courtroom. Once she was back at her office and dispelled her enchantments Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She was thankful that no one had tried to get into her office this time. Once inside she changed out of her red robes and dress flats. She then put back on her blue jeans and trainers. She was thankful that she didn't have to get out of the shirt to wear the robes. She then locked the door from the inside and called Rexa.

Rexa flamed into the office and started jumping around her. "High Rexa," Hermione said rubbed both sides of her head and brought the canine in for a hug. "How are you doing girl?" Rexa barked and licked at Hermione's face. "Oh, I love you to girl. I was wondering if you could get me back home?" Rexa barked in response. "Okay then." The next thing Hermione knew she was surrounded by flames. The next thing Hermione knew she was in her living room. Hermione didn't have to look around for her girlfriend because at that moment Pansy's arms wrapped around her waist, and she received a kiss on the side of her neck. "Good afternoon love," Hermione said as she purred and leaned into the kiss.

"Good afternoon Mi." Pansy whispered into her ear. "How did the meeting go?"

Had Pansy not continued kissing her neck Hermione might have growled at this. “I still haven't received the lessons because Malfoy and Umbridge tried to change a law so that I might lose my place in the Wizengamot. I guess this also includes my title as 'Lady Dagworth-Granger'. Thankfully Dumbledore, Madam Bones, and Greengrass helped me put an end to it. I also called for an inquiry as to why the law change they wanted was being done.”

At that point, Pansy had walked infront of her with her arms still around Hermione's waist. The look on her face was one of worry. "Is everything okay?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Pans everything is fine. Malfoy's inquiry is over, and as it stands he is no longer a member Wizengamot. I don't think there will be a law of his that doesn't go under a microscope.” Hermione rested her head on Pansy's chest. “I have an hour lunch and was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the Leaky Cauldron.”

"Sure, but lunch is on me," Pansy said as she made her way up the stairs. It didn't take Pansy long to get her coin purse. "So what's going to happen to Umbridge?" Pansy asked as she started scratching Rexa's head.

Hermione sighed. “Honestly I don't know. Her inquiry isn't until after lunch, and I have my doubts that she'll be fired, but her capabilities might be limited. I am not saying this out of anything other than past life experience.”

Pans chuckled. "Well, you were a politician back then." Pansy looked down at Rexa. "Do you think you can get us into Diagon Alley." Before anything else could be said the both of them were enveloped in flames. The next thing they knew they were standing in the back room of the Leaky Cauldron that leads to the Alley. "Good girl. Someone is getting a dragon bone tonight." Pansy said as she petted Rexa on her head. Rexa barked before flaming away.

Hermione took Pans' hand. "You know you spoil her too much."

"No, I don't." Pansy said quickly as she walked into the pub pulling Hermione along with her as she lightly held onto her hand.

“Sure love, I believe you.” Hermione said lightly as they walked into the pub.

Hermione noticed Sirius was standing by the bar talking to Tom. Pansy walked up to the man and hit him lightly on the shoulder. When he looked at her the man's faced morphed from one of a concerned discontent into one of joy. "Hello, Ladies how goes it?"

"Aside from Malfoy and Umbridge's trick, I'd say it is going well." Hermione said as she went to take a seat.

"Don't bother Hermione. Madam Bones and Charles already have us a table." Sirius said as he looked back at Tom. "Tom, get these two some butterbeer."

"Aye, and I'll have a waiter be at your table shortly," Tom said with a toothless smile.

"Thank you," Hermione said with a smile.

The two of them followed Sirius off to the back right corner of the pub. The others were sitting at a circular table. Hermione was thinking it was just going to be the other the Charlie, his wife, and Madam Bones, but sitting next to Bones was a beautiful woman that Hermione had never seen before. At first, she thought the brunette was Sirius' date, but then she noticed that the woman was holding Lady Bones' hand. Before she could say anything she noticed Pansy had pulled a seat out for her. Hermione thanked her girlfriend and took the seat. Once Pansy sat down Hermione looked once more at Madam Bones.

“This is the first time I have seen you with anyone Madam Bone. May I ask you who this beautiful woman is?” Hermione asked calmly.

The woman next to Madam Bones laughed. "You are too kind my Lady. My name is Abigail Flagstone."

"My darling she isn't wrong you are beautiful." Madam Bones said to her with a rare smile on her face. "I am telling you, my dear, this young woman was able to walk circles around Malfoy to day. This might be because she caught him off guard."

Hermione nodded her head. Before she could say anything the waiter arrived to take their orders. There was a part of her that wanted to order the 'lunch' she had with Hecate, but she chose to stick with fish and chips. Pansy ordered a hamburger and chips. The orders of the others didn't very far from this, but Sirius was the exception. He orders a steak medium well and chips. Everyone just looked at him like had gone made. Sirius just laughed as he explained that it was something Circe had got him hooked on. They all just looked at one another and tried to make sense of this. This to Hermione seemed like a heavy meal for lunch. Before she could probe any deeper Charlie probed a topic Hermione was hoping to avoid until much later.

“My daughter says that you are an Atlantean somehow. Could you explain that statement?” The look on Charlie's face was one of slight concern.

Hermione looked around to make sure they were not being listened to, and when she was certain of this she leaned forward. “To put a long story short Pansy and I are bound in love right down to our souls. I'd been having dreams about someone else's life for years, and the moment Pansy and kissed for the first time the memories of our first lives flooded our minds. To say that I was shocked by the revelation is a bit of an understatement.”

“I thought that Atlanteans were evil?” Flagstone asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Not all of use. Even though I was a noble back then I wanted nothing to do with conquering the rest of Europe. The sad part is those of us that didn't want to do that were not listened to. The straw that broke the camels back was the evasion of Athens. Once that was done five years before we were even supposed to shite as they say hit the fan." There was a building rage in Hermione's heart as talked about this. She did everything in her power to control it. "The sad part is the TWO people responsible for making that decision are back as well. One of them had the 'fortune' of being fey and lived through the three thousand years between then and now. The second one had to be reborn like me. The fey either had to waken up his dormant memories, or his past life consumed his present one. To be honest I wouldn't put it past him to do that."

“Oh my.” Flagstone said with a shocked look on her face. “How could she even do that?”

Hermione sighed. "Because in the afterlife even if you have done some evil things in life you are given the chance at rebirth. The only ones who are not are Tantalus and Sisyphus for very obvious reasons." Hermione said as she noticed the food is on its way.

"Well, that's interesting." Madam Bones said. "Let's focus on the food for now. We have another trial to worry about after this."

"Agreed," said Sirius.

 


	16. The Past and The Present Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or it's affiliated characters, places, or things. Those are owned by JK Rowling and affiliated companies. This plot is mine, however, and sadly for me, I can't/won't make money off this. Such is life. 
> 
> A/N: The Darkness Expands and Consumes. What people think of the Light is a lie... Sorry, I'm rambling again. Please read and review.

Hermione was sitting there wondering what could possibly happen between now and the start of term given what everyone was talking about at the moment she couldn't help but think about the trials she had undergone a couple of weeks ago. That Umbridge thought she could bring Hermione to her knees was both infuriating and humorous. She couldn't understand how a deplorable woman got so high ranking in the government in the first place. Just thinking about this made her growl a little bit.

“Whoa darling I know you don't want to see Ronald in his skivvies, but this shouldn't make you this mad.” Pansy said with a little more jovial tone in her voice than one truly needed.

“What?” Hermione asked more than a little confused.

"She clearly wasn't listening," Harry said with a happy tone to his face.

"No, I wasn't," Hermione said as she reached over and swatted him on the arm. "So what were you talking about 'cause I highly doubt it was Ronald's skivvies."

“No it wasn't, but I had to say something to get your attention.” Pansy said before she leant over and kissed Hermione lightly on the cheek. “We kind of all think that that bint is a bit of a glory whore.”

“Pansy!” both Daphne and Hermione said as one.

“What girls it's true.” Harry came to Pansy's defence.

Daphne swatted him on the shoulder. “You are only saying that because the 'boys' have got to stick together.”

"Isn't that the truth," Pansy said with a broad smile as she high fived Harry.

Daphne looked over at Hermione, and they stared at one another for about a minute before they nodded to one another. As one they swatted their loved ones on the back of their heads. "Oww," they said as one. Daphne then looked back at Hermione. "So what did happen during Umbridge's trial. I'm only asking cause my Dad won't tell us what happened."

Hermione scrunched her nose at this question. She wasn't under lockdown on what she could tell people, but this wasn't something she thought most people would want to know. "I'd love to tell you, but what I know might not set that well with you. I mean it was only buried under the Lucius Malfoy news because she was a part of his bullshite."

"This may be true, but knowing our luck Hermione we may be facing this bint at some point in the near future." Pansy said with a sombre smile.

“When did you become prophetic?” Hermione asked.

"Yesterday," Pansy said with a smile. "They need to know what happened to that bint. 'Cause even though I was there and dealt with her previously thanks to Jeffery. These two I don't think they have. So you tell them or I will. Besides, I think learning the truth about what happened after the trial from us will beat learning about what happened in the  _Prophet_ a week from now. "

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Fine...”

* * *

 

Dolores was sitting there in her holding room absolutely furious. This underage bint hand single handedly gotten her and Lucius Malfoy positions in the Ministry called into question by simply pointing out the flaws in the RIGHTFUL laws they had enacted. Who was going to willingly oppose the young bitch at this moment?! Especially after their failed attempt to deny bitch her rightful 'half-blood' status. However if what she's been hearing was true thin this bitch should be called a halfbreed. No wizard would willingly sleep with a 'Goddess' to create a new breed. The opposite was for absolutely true as well. There was no way that a goddess of MAGIC would sleep with a foul muggle. That was just something that not only didn't sit right with here

"I actually doubt the so-called 'Goddess' was the actual noble Lady of Magic." Dolores screamed out in frustration. "Lady Hecate would NEVER LAY IN BED WITH A MUGGLE! IF I AM WRONG I ASK THE GREAT LADY TO PROVE ME WRONG!"

As the words left her lips the room started to get warmer. Within seconds it felt like the room was on fire. The sound of a raging fire ignited behind her causing Dolores to jump towards the roof. She spun around while reaching for her wand, and much to her dismay she'd forgotten that it was confiscated before she was placed in this room. Standing behind her was a woman who stood in the centre of the room. The look in her bright grey eyes was more than a little frightening. It was like Dolores had kicked her kitten. There was a slight breeze moving her deep black hair. What bothered Dolores was that her hair had slight midnight blue highlights. Even though she was terrified she took this time to look at the woman's figure. She was staring at one of the most well-fit women she'd ever seen. She wasn't as beautiful as a supermodel, but there was no denying her beauty. The deep ebony robes paired with her steel grey eyes made her more than a little intimidating. This silver light bouncing between her fingers.

Before Dolores could say anything the woman snapped her fingers and Dolores found herself being slammed down on her knees. Before she could say anything the woman spoke. “What do I HAVE to PROVE to you Dolores Jane Umbridge?”

Dolores could feel her rage building now. How dare this THING treat her like this. It didn't matter that SHE had somehow found a way around the enchantment protecting the Ministry. The words left her mouth before she could truly measure her words like she normally did, and her voice was devoid of her 'chipper' tone. The bitterness in her voice made her flinch at this odd bitter taste in the mouth. "You have to PROVE TO ME THAT HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER IS THE DAUGHTER OF A GODDESS!"

This wicked smile crawled across her face. "With pleasure toad." The woman held up her left hand and snapped her fingers. The next thing Dolores knew she was falling down and all she could do was scream. It took what felt like an hour for her to approach the ground. She held out right hand and focused excessively on the Slowing Charm. Thankfully she started slowing down, and she cast a smug look at where the bint should be. No one was there. She looked around for and didn't find her until she looked towards the ground. The woman was standing on the ground looking up at her. As she approached the ground Dolores pointe her feet towards the ground. 

Once her feet hit the ground the woman said: “Welcome to my home.” Dolores looked around the space for something to defend herself with. Her eyes fell on the last thing she thought she'd see unprotected: a wand. “Well this isn't really just my home it is the home of other deities as well, but this location is where I spend most of my time.”

It was at this point that Dolores ran for the wand. 'I'll either prove her wrong or right, and I doubt she's right.' Dolores thought with a smirk on her face as she ran for the wand. Once she was near it she reached out for it and grabbed it. The moment it was in her hand she was racked with agonizing pain. She bit her lower lip to fight through the pain as she round on this woman. She still had this smug smirk on her face. Dolores growled as she raised the wand and flicked it at the woman before saying: Generi Revelare!” Dolores could no longer hold on to the wand because of the pain, but given what was revealed she doubted she'd have been able to hold it for much longer anyway.

_Goddess (Titaness) of Magic, Womanhood, Phases of the Moon, Crossroads, Ghosts, and Darkness. Guide to the Afterlife._

“Do you believe me now?” The smooth tone of her voice sent a chill down Dolores' spine. There was NO WAY her magic was wrong, but how could one of the Lady's wands hurt her?

"Of course your grace," Dolores said as she curtsied. "But I've had my doubts Granger's claims about being your daughter. There is no way you'd sleep with her father a filthy..." Dolores' mouth snapped shut at that moment. She was finding it very difficult to talk right now.

"I can assure you mortal that she is my daughter, and I can equally assure you that you vaunted words mean nothing to me. I know what is hidden behind your honeyed tone." The glare from the goddess was more than a little unnerving. It was in this moment Dolores realised that she could not treat this being like she did other people, and this was off-putting, to say the least. "What you have been taught and believe in is a blatant lie, and I will relish in the day it is rent asunder. Do not try to work against it now because we will know if you're doing it to save your own arse. Now if you've truly changed your ways then go for it, but don't think you can work against it falsely thinking we will be fooled."

Even though she KENW this 'woman' was a goddess she couldn't believe that she would be so... disrespectful of her actions. Sure, now she could no longer stand behind the 'pure-blood' ideology as she had been since she was a child. The mudbloods still posed a threat to them because they were uneducated about their way of life. She also wasn't too sure that a muggleborn might not be able to... AMPLIFY their natural magic by stealing a pure-bloods to make theirs stronger. She could test this assertion."But surely madam there is a way muggleborns steal the gift you give to AMPLIFY their own." Dolores pleaded as she felt this huge tremor flow through her body. "I mean other things can be stolen why can't magic?"

A deep baritone voice behind her caused Dolores to jump. "Because your magic has as much to do with your soul as it does your blood. Your parents can carry the genes of a mage, but if their souls aren't strong enough then they can only carry the genes." As the man made his way around Dolores he picked up the wand on the ground. He was wearing muggle clothes instead of proper magical robes. He was wearing these greyish trousers and what she thought might be a sports coat. She couldn't really see the shirt he was wearing, but she thought it might black. His shoes though appeared to be made of dragon hide though. Once he stood up at his full height Dolores felt intimidated. The man stood about five-foot-nine-inches tall, and he had this three-inch scar over his right eye with an inch line at the base making it look like an inverted cross. The dark tone of his grey eyes carried this feel of violence, but he was moving with such a graceful step you would think the man meant no harm. "Is she the one causing the problems for Hermione mother?" The man asked as he glanced over at the goddess.

“Yes, Hektor she is causing more problems than I could anticipate. Yes, I've been watching, but as per the rules I could not stop your plans while they are in motion to protect Hermione.” Lady Hecate said this with a little bitterness in her voice. The deity walked up to the young man. “Come here son let me look at you.” The man walked over to the goddess. She put her hands on either side of his face and tilted his head to the left and right. “Why do you still have that scar?”

“Do you think they would believe that it is me when they see me without it?” The man said with a slight chuckle to his voice.

“No, but this meeting wasn't supposed to happen for two weeks, but since these requirements have been met it can happen right now. You could also decide to follow the original plan.” Lady Hecate said with a slight smile. “And remember no matter how badly you want to if he is Magnus is not your target.”

Hektor chuckled a little. “I know, but that doesn't mean I can't help her and Leto.”

"Her name is Pansy in this lifetime Hektor." Hecate laughed at this point, and Dolores could feel this rage building up within her at being ignored like this. This was so familiar to her during her Hogwarts years, but these weren't students she could report. She didn't even think she could demand respect from them. "As for you Dolores Jane Umbridge, if you so much as touch this man your foreseeable life will not be pleasant, and none of that unpleasantness will be because of me. As for this meeting, it needs to come to an end."

"Your Ladyship I was only..." before Dolores could finish this sentence she felt like she was being yanked up on portkey. Although the feeling of being pulled upwards by the naval the speed was beyond anything Dolores had ever experienced in her life. It did take her long to return to her holding cell. What was bad about it is not that she was not sent walking towards the ground. Instead, she found her self shifted into a running position. So moving her legs in a walking manner turned a safety measure into a liability. She now found herself running towards an unbreakable door. When she slammed into it she screamed out loud. "DAMN IT!"

As she stumbled backwards the door was flung open. She was only able to see who it was when her bum landed on the ground. It was Cornelius with this concerned look on his face. Behind him was Madam Bones, two Aurors, Granger, and young Ms Parkinson. Before she could say anything about what happened everyone could hear the kindling of fire behind her. This of course was accompanied by the smell of burning coal. Dolores glared behind her at the source of this magic, and the moment she saw it all the blood drained from her face.

Lady Hecate looked over at her son. “I think she's learning. Let's see how long it last son.”

“Who are you?” demanded Auror Yaxley.

“She's Lady Hecate the Goddess of Magic. I have... made the mistake of challenging her...” Dolores clamoured out.

The man standing beside the goddess laughed once more, and now this chill ran down her spine at its sound. It was more of a cackle than a laugh. “That's not the only thing you did you fool. You practically called Lady Hecate a whore.” There was this devilish grin across the man's face. “I've known my fair share of fools, but you take the cake.”

"Your forgetting that she stole your wand and cast a spell on me that disproved everything she believed." Hecate glared at her at this moment, and Dolores just wished she could crawl into a hole in the marble floor right about now.

“Is she your... mother?” Dolores could hear Cornelius talking to someone, and she didn't think she needed to turn around to see who that was.

"Yes sir, and the gentleman beside her is my older brother. Before you ask no he did not go to Hogwarts. He was born over three thousand years ago. I don't think I am allowed to tell YOU where he went to school, but I will say this the world has been looking for it for over three thousand years." Lady Granger sound both relieved and upset at the same moment. What could this man have done to upset her so much?

“Surely your joking. There is no way he is three-thousand years old.” The sound of an upset Jeffery Parkinson did cause her to turn around. She cast him a hopeful gaze. This man could probably save her hide if he did mess things up worse than she did. The man had plans for his niece, but so long as she was dating a demigoddess no one was wanting to sign the parchment that would condemn their sons.

"Your right Mr Parkinson, but she actually was understating my age not overstating it. I am three-thousand seven-hundred and eighty-four years older than her sir. Before you ask: NO I did not obtain this agelessness and unkillable nature through the 'Dark Arts'. I earned the agelessness, Nectar of the Gods when I was twenty-five. I gained it for protecting three gods and goddesses from attackers and escorted them to their destination which was hundreds of miles away without complaint. I never tried to take advantage of the goddesses when they slept, and not once did I try to take a passing glance at them in moments of nudity. The gods tested me by trying to get me to do this but I rejected their advice. I told the goddess of this, and when we got to their destination the rewarding me with nectar. I stole one of the Apples Heracles a year later. Need I say more?"

“If this were true we'd know you by name boy!” Jeffery Parkinson screamed.

The man chuckled at this statement, and Parkinson's niece laugher at this statement sounded almost maniacal. “Uncle I've read this man's story, and I can assure you that if you knew who he was You-Know-Who would go from the scariest person you know of to the weakest piece of shite that has ever taken the title of Dark Lord. Though he never dined that title he was called a War Lord during his spiralling fall into darkness. Before you ask yes he was punished for all the things he did. For fifteen-hundred years he was imprisoned in a place you don't want to be.”

“Where was that?” Parkinson screamed once more glaring dagger at his traitorous niece.

"A place where I was cursed to return from solid marble to living flesh. Granted to do that I had to be turned into a marble statue in the first place which was something that I would not recommend. If you want it to happen to make sure it is the last thing on your 'bucket list'. It hurts, a lot." Hektor told them with the stern look on his face. "Now if you don't mind I have to talk with my sister and her girlfriend." The man started walking towards the young ladies. "Black and Greengrass are more than welcome to come with us. I don't want or need them worrying about the two of you."

Granger and Parkinson looked at one another and said as one: “Sure.”

As they walked away Dolores looked over for Lady Hecate. She couldn't find her, and when she looked back at the gathered Aurors and members of the Wizengamot she noticed they looked confused. It was like they didn't know why they were here. Two of the Aurors Shacklebot and Tonks walked up to her and had her in cuffs before she could say a word. Things didn't seem to be going in the right direction for her right now. The slight pain from the burn on her wrist only drove this point home.

* * *

 

Pansy followed Hermione and Hektor to her beloveds office. The looks cast between the two of them revealed a few glances of concern and worry from Hermione to her brother. The man did fall centuries ago, but from what the book Hermione had been given the man had suffered severely for what he had done. Just thinking about what he had done caused a chill to run down her spine. The idea that someone would repeatedly turn to stone daily for fifteen-hundred years was more than unsettling. What was bad about really was that he returned from stone to living flesh starting at the spinal cord outwards was more than unsettling. It's not that the man didn't deserve it, but the extreme that they went to form a 'mortal' point-of-view was a bit heavy-handed.

“What are you thinking about... Pansy?” Hektor asked with a little bit of cheer to his voice.

"What they did to you," Pansy said swiftly.

"It was deserved. I earned the agelessness gifted by Nectar of the Gods, but I shouldn't have stolen and eaten one of the Apples of Hesperides. That was the dumbest thing I did. That was swiftly followed by invading Athens after being told not to do so for thirty years. I shouldn't have jumped the gun five years too early." Even though Hector was laughing at this there was still a sombre tone to his voice.

“You shouldn't have listened to him.” Hermione said bitterly.

“Yes, but this world might not have been better for it.” Hektor said in pleading tone of voice. “I know I upset you Hermione, but know this: That I owe the two of a life debt that I will not falter. When you need me I will always be there.”

"Really?" the two of them asked as one. Hermione sounded as shocked as Pansy felt in this moment. Pansy took a glance over her shoulder and found that Black and both Lord and Lady Greengrass were following them, but they kept a distance almost like they were letting brother and sister get to know one another.

“Yes, and to be honest it took every fibre of my being to not interfere in both your lives.” Hektor said with a slight laugh to his voice. “To be fair though that one guy you ran away from Hermione did get to meet me, and not in a good way.”

"What?" Pansy asked shocked at this information. Pansy looked over at her girlfriend and found her looking more than a little confused.

"Back when Hermione was in her fifth year of primary school a gentleman had been following her for a month." Hektor said nonchalantly while waving his hand. "He wanted to kidnap her, but she'd noticed him doing this about a week before he actually attempted to kidnap her, and when he did she kicked him pretty hard in the leg shattering his chin. This, of course, caused him to drop her. Hermione then took off running, and where I am a balance of 'godly' speed and strength Hermione is all speed."

“While I remember the event vaguely I don't remember doing that?” Hermione said looking more than a little shocked.

“Of course you wouldn't you were just trying to get to an adult you knew was safe to be around. Not that there wasn't one far away from you in the first place.” Hektor said with a slight smile. “Before you ask Hermione he didn't get away with it, and that's all I'm going to say about it.” A chill ran down Pansy's spine at this moment. She knew Hektor's job in the old days was to 'remove' men like this from society, but she didn't think that magical vow would last this long.

"Duly noted," Hermione said curtly. "That still doesn't explain why your here though, and furthermore why you are talking about this stuff so freely about this in front of all these people."

“Well since we're now at your office informing you of why I am wanting to do this won't take long. I am just here to give you something for both of your birthdays. In advance of them of course.” Hektor said as he patted his pocket. “As for why we are talking about this so openly: Do you honestly think I'd speak about this in English?”

“Of course we would, there isn't...” Hermione stopped mid-sentence as she unlocked her door. “You tricked us into talking in...”

“Atlantean...” Pansy finished Hermione's sentence. Hektor nodded with a wicked smile on his face. “Was this a test?”

“Yes, and this was just to confirm in my own heartbroken mind that things were in safer hands than my own.” Hektor smiled at the two of them. “From what I hear you two aren't the only ones who can do this.” Hektor said as he shut and locked the door. “There is another student at your school who can do it, aside from Magnus, but you wouldn't think he could. Besides I don't want to take away his right to tell you.”

“But...” Pansy protested, but Hektor's stern look caused her to fall silent for a second. “Fine, do we at least get to know if he is a friend or not?”

"He's a friend, but that is all I can say." Hektor reached into his pocket and pulled out this small box. It looked like a small jewellery box. He then handed it over to Hermione. "This is something I'm sure you've both been desperately missing for a few months now. Truth be told I was shocked to learn Mom stole these from you two moments before Atlantis went boom."

Pansy walked over to Hermione left shoulder as she opened the box. Inside the box were two very familiar rings. The ring she once had of gold with a silver bird inlay wrapping around the ring. It was amazing to look at the craftsmanship people used to have with limited technology. Granted there wasn't that much different to making a metallic rig compared to way back when and now. She looked over at the ring Hermione was looking at. It was a familiar gold ring with a silver snake inlay going through the middle. As Hermione reached for her wand Pansy swatted her hand. Hermione looked over at her with a confused look on her face. Pansy took Hermione's old ring and fell to one knee. When she looked up at Hermione she saw that Hermione had this shocked look on her face. Pansy smiled at her girlfriend and took her left hand. "I am not asking you to marry me just yet, but I am wanting to ask you to marry me." Pansy said in a staggered breath. "We have spent two separate lifetimes together, and the first time we were supposed to get married two days after that fateful day. So, I want to ask you if you want to make this relationship as solid as the last one." 

Hermione was wiping away a tear or two away from her cheek as she looked down at her girlfriend. "Of course Pansy Juliet Parkinson." Hermione held out her left hand, and Pansy gently took Hermione's hand and slid the ring on her ring finger. Since this was her dominant hand the magic leapt-out into her hand. Pansy could 'feel' it flow throughout her arm shortly after that. She was no daughter of Hecate, but she knew that the magic had to be flowing throughout Hermione's body right now. Once this was done Pansy looked up at her 'betrothed' and smiled. Hermione brought the ring up close to her her eyes and examined her old ring once more. "Does it look like you remember it being?"

"Yes," Hermione said softly. Hermione then reached in the box and took out Pansy's ring, and slipped it on her right index finger. "I know these are standing in for promise rings, but I think we should go out and buy a pair of rings. Maybe we can do some things around the house to earn money."

"You won't need to Hermione," Hektor said with a smile on his face. "For starters, you are now a member of the Wizengamot who get paid. Secondly, I think you need to talk to Lady Greengrass and see if there was anything else that you inherited from Dagworth-Granger you as a group might want to look into it. And thirdly regardless of the other two outcomes, I am giving you both one-hundred-and-forty-million galleons because in my eyes that is monetary debt I owe the both of you. I will be giving it to you today actually." Pansy went to say something, and all he did was hold up his hand. She looked over at Hermione to see that she was doing the same thing. "I don't want to hear it. The phrase 'You don't have to,' will not work here ladies. What I did destroy the home I loves, and one of the most beautiful relationships I have seen in my life. So, you deserve it, and the only reason you aren't getting more is 'cause my wife would 'kill' me." Hektor said the last part with a smile.

Pansy looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Does she know about the...”

"Yes, she knows that I stole and ate one of the Apples of the Hesperides thus making me immortal. She said she would be doing it to actually kill me, but she did want to use the 'deaths' to quote-unquote 'Drive the POINT home'."

Hermione blanched at this. “Do we even want to know?”

"I will say it involves a knife," Hektor said with a smile.

“Oh by the Gods.” both girls said as one rather loudly.

There was a knock on the door at that moment, and Hektor unlocked the door and opened it. On the other side of the door was a concerned looking Mr and Mrs Greengrass, and a worried looking Sirius. It was Madam Greengrass that spoke first. “Is everything alright girls?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Pansy and Hermione said as one.

Circe cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention."Madam Greengrass you have nothing to worry about. Hektor means us no harm, we just overreacted. He is an Atlantean ma'am, and many Atlanteans live by a specific code. Before you ask that code is: I swear that I will never rape anyone if I do I die. It is tattooed with magically linked into his, and through the use of his own blood in the ink it is anchored to his soul. It is on his right arm." Circe pointed to Hektor's right hand. It was at this point that Pansy remembered that old tradition. She looked at Hektor's arm once more. Sitting there on the back of his right hand was that familiar Midnight Black tattoo. She could only see the start of it: I swear that, but the rest went up to his arm and was hidden behind the sleeve of his muggle sports jacket. A memory flashed through her mind at this point, and she wished that ALL Atlantean men took this vow.

“That's...” Mr Greengrass spoke with a shaky voice.

Hektor looked over at Pansy and Hermione. "Do they know?" He asked with a look of concern on his face. They shook their heads in the negative. He looked once more over to the Mr and Ms Greengrass and pointed to the back of his right hand. "This is my native tongue, and yes it is Linear A, but I don't have the time to teach you right now. If they trust you I will tell you later, but right now the two of you," he pointed to Mr Greengrass and Hermione, "...need to get changed. I will accompany Pansy and Lady Greengrass just in case Parkinson has plans to harm Pansy."

"Sir I don't think you understand the danger that would put you in. I think it best if Ms Parkinson is somewhere else right now." Charles said with a little bit of worry in his voice.

“Charles I don't think we'll be in any danger, and given the way he looks I don't think some will be attacking us.” Ms Greengrass said with this wicked smile on her face.

"Your wife's right sir," Hektor said with a slight laugh to his voice. He pointed to the scar over his right eye. "This was not gained by accident, sir. The closest one to me that you know is Mad-Eye Moody." Hektor was laughing at this point. "I'll step outside so you four can talk politics in private before you have to get dressed."

Hektor walked out of the room and closed the door. With that Hermione looked over at Charles. The man was looking over at her like something had just gone sideways. "What's wrong Charles?"

The man took a few moments before he said anything. “Is he really your brother? It's not that I don't believe you, but that man looks rather dangerous.”

Hermione looked over at Pansy. It was like they were talking. 'I am going to show memories later, but shouldn't I at least tell them a part of it.'

Pansy closed her eyes and shook her head. 'No we'll show them all we can about him, but we need to focus on who made him that way.'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'It was more than eating the Apple that drove him over the edge.' Before Pansy could say anything Mi spoke in a calm tone. “Sir, Hektor is truly Hermione's brother, but it's not a paternal relation. Hektor is over three-thousand years old, and before you ask: No it wasn't dark magic that did that.”

"How could this be done without Dark Magic? The only way I know it can be done is through the Philosopher's Stone, and there was only one to the best of my knowledge." Mrs Greengrass asked.

Hermione shook her head violently. "No, oddly enough he gained it through two ways. One he explained in detail. The second he simply summoned to him one of the Apples of Hesperides to him when he was near them. How close he was I do not know, and to be frank I don't want to. What you call a dragon is really a drake. A true dragon has at least ten heads, and that is a newborn."

Mrs Greengrass blanched at this. “You mean the story we heard about Hercules having to get around that thing were true?” Pansy nodded. “Damn, and here I thought the Hungarian Horntail was the worst dragon you could meet.”

“It isn't.” Hermione and Pansy said as one. Pansy looked over at Hermione and gestured for her to continue.

"What you call dragons are dragons, but they are not the strongest kind. The Asian dragons are a separate group altogether. It would surprise me if there were sentient verity of them because Europe has its own in Drakon and Drakaina. You DON'T WANT to meet the first. They are huge and generally precede a deity. The second type are sentient and can shape-shift. They are always female, and not all of them are what we would call good. You have heard of at least one of them the Lernaean Hydra."

“Who?” Mr Greengrass asked.

"They Hydra from the story of Heracles," Pansy said calmly.

“That's a dragon?!” Lord and Lady Greengrass said as one.

"Yep," Pansy said calmly. She then looked at her watch. It was 1:50 PM. They should have been back in courtroom fifteen minutes ago. "I think we need to go to Lady Greengrass."

"Agreed, I don't think Fudge can wait much longer." Lady Greengrass said with a smile.

* * *

 

Ministry of Magic, Level 10

Courtroom 10

2:15 PM

Albus Dumbledore for the first time in his life felt more than sympathy for the accused. He was actually feeling pity for Umbridge at this moment. He doesn't know exactly what she said that grabbed the Goddess of Magic's attention, but whatever it was he didn't think it was something he'd want to be doing anytime in future. Umbridge had this evilness to her that was so dedicated to the law that someone who didn't truly know her would think she was doing a good thing. It didn't take one long to learn that she was only out for herself. If you didn't fall into that small group she deemed worthy you would be belittled, degraded, and threaten. She did all of this thing in this sweet tone of voice and used words in such a way that you couldn't call her out on it. Had she ever threatened anyone's life she might not have gotten this far, but Albus knew that even though she didn't the woman wanted to do terrible things to a few people if not more. Perhaps this was the one chance they had to remove her from her current position.

The sound of doors pulled his attention out of these dark thoughts. Lady Granger, Mr Greengrass, and Sirius were finally making there way into the room. Two of them looked more than a little indisposed. Whatever they learned in Lady Granger's office was something so out of the normal that it made two well-seasoned men so pale they were almost bleached white. This was something he might have to talk to Sirius about later, and hope that whatever he learned didn't disrupt things for Harry. Once they sat down he banged the gavel to quite the room.

“Lady Granger is everything all right?” Albus asked trying to get a feel for the situation.

In her usual calm voice she said: “Absolutely sir, my brother just gave Pansy and I a gift for our birthdays a little early. Those gifts required a little explaining is all. I am sorry if that disturbed anyone's plans for the day.”

"No, apology needed Lady Granger," Cornelius said with a smile. "You are only a couple of minutes behind Lady Granger and Ms Parkinson."

Albus looked once more to the gentleman that accompanied Lady Greengrass and Ms Parkinson into the room. He seemed calm and collected, but Albus could feel this underlying tension between them. If what Lady Granger said earlier were true who could this man be? The way Umbridge look at him when he arrived meant that she had seen him, but that the meeting wasn't a pleasant one. There was this part of him that wanted to be the fly on a wall at that meeting. The more sensible side of him wanted nothing to do with that meeting. Given the way Umbridge treated muggleborns, he could only imagine the way the woman would instinctively treat a goddess. That she survived the encounter was a miracle in and of itself.

Albus looked away from the man as the doors as Dolores Umbridge was lead to the accused chair. She looked at the two aurors and then at the chair. Young Tonks shrank the chair to a more appropriate height for a woman of such short stature. As she sat down upon the seat Albus cast a glance over at Lady Granger wondering what she was thinking at this moment.

* * *

 

Hermione was staring at the woman of shorter stature than her. It wasn't the woman's height that bothered her, but it did play a small part in it. The woman's insults, derogatory statements, and her 'I am better than thou' attitude irritated her more than the woman's childish look, or her 'sweet and innocent' voice. A closer look at the woman revealed that her right hand seemed to carry a nasty second to third-degree magical burn. She didn't want to know what the woman had done, or where she had gone to gain that scar. It was surprising really that the woman had gotten her mother's attention in the first place. Was it because she and Pansy had been in the building when the woman spoke ill of her mother? Or, was it because the woman probably demanded an answer from a goddess in an evaluative tone.

The ring on Hermione's finger warmed up considerably at this moment. For a moment she thought it was Pansy trying to grab her attention, but at the shout of someone behind her, she knew this wasn't the case. She looked around the room and found a gentleman sitting near Pansy giving her a death glare. Hermione recognized him from school, but he had to be a couple of years older than her. She racked her brain, but couldn't come up with a name. A glance at Pansy showed that she wasn't the only one who noticed this. This had to be her aunt or uncle's plan to get revenge. Perhaps it was something intended for her, but now that Pansy was here the target may have shifted.

A tap on her shoulder from Sirius grabbed her attention. “What's wrong Hermione?”

Hermione looked over at the man, and this worried look was plastered on his face. “A young man I remember from school is in the visitor's section, and just staring at Pansy. This unpleasant look is gracing his face at the moment.” Sirius turned to look at the Visitor's Section. “He is three rows back, and sitting in the second chair to the left of Pansy.”

"I think I recognize him as well as Hermione." Charles said grimly. "I think he is Karkus Flint's oldest son. His young brother looks a lot like him. I'm sure you've seen or met Marcus."

“He doesn't look that nice.” Sirius said grimly.

“His family has been dealing in dark artefacts for years now. Though they are not part of Sacred Twenty-Eight they definitely associate with them.” Charles said calmly.

The sound of Minister Fudge's voice stopped their conversation. "Ladies and Gentlemen we call this meeting of the Wizenagmot back into session." The man looked down at the woman who had been sitting beside him not too long ago. "Madam Umbridge do you agree to take Veritaserum in regards to these questions?"

"Yes, Minister Fudge I do," Umbridge said in a calm voice. The woman had to be broken down at this point. It was one thing to insult her, but to challenge her mother. How stupid could this woman be?

"Administer the serum Auror Tonks." Madam Bones said calmly. Hermione thought she could see this look of joy on the woman's face. The Aura walked up to Umbridge and applied the potion. Once the Auror stepped back Madam Bones waited a minute before she asked: "What was your NEWT score for Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

Hermione watched Umbridge struggle against the potion. Her entire body was flinching in frustration. It was like she was want to say something that was untrue, and finding it more difficult to do so than she'd like. It was almost like she had found a way to overcome potion, but was now incapable of doing that. There was a part of her that was wanting to apply her divine presence, if that was possible, to make her spit out the truth. At the mere thought, Circe's voice filled her mind.  _"Don't worry about given what she has said done today mom has been given permission to do some things to make her life a little bit harder. She will pay for a few things that she has done, but not all of them. I'm only telling you this so you and my husband don't do something stupid. So while she struggling to tell Sirius, before the loveable idiot does something stupid."_

Hermione sat there in shock for a couple about a minute before she shook her head, and it was still clear that Umbridge was struggling against the potion. She tapped Sirius on his shoulder. The man looked over at her confused for a moment. She motioned for him to lean closer. Once he did Hermione started whispering in his ear. "I don't know WHY Circe wanted me to tell you this, but don't worry about what Umbridge is doing. She is paying for pissing off my mum apparently. Well, I think she pissed off a lot more divine beings than just my mother." Hermione said this as calmly as possible, but she could feel this small smile grace her lips.

“What the hell does that mean?” Sirius said.

"It means don't get mad even if this shite takes more than five minutes to take effect." Hermione looked over at Umbridge once more. The woman was struggling against the potion. "I can only assume she was not prepared for this struggle. "Honestly I don't know what she could have said, or said underhandedly that angered more than one deity... within the last hour I mean."

"I'm still amazed that she had the stones to challenge your linage again to your mother." Charles said with a disparaging look on his face. "I've heard stories that she shows a less than pleasant attitude toward muggleborn, half-human, non-human employees of the Ministry."

Whatever they were going to say was diverted by Umbridge crying out: "I have two scores the first was a Poor, and the second was an Acceptable."

Everyone in the Wizenagmot was whispering to the neighbours at this point. Hermione and those near her were wondering how she got this far in the Ministry with a grade that low. Mr Brestalin said that in her youth Umbridge used to look more than a little tolerable. This of course mean she slept her way to the top, but Hermione had her doubts about this. Sirius thought that she might have bribed her way into the Ministry. Given that she was supposed to come from a rich pure-blood family this wasn't an impossibility.

Once the room fell quiet Madam Bones asked: “Why did you take twenty minutes to answer this quest Umbridge?”

This less than pleased look was plastered on the woman's face. The voice that left her mouth while monotone still felt cold and distant. “I didn't want to admit to this disgraceful information.”

“How did you get into the Ministry with that low of a score?” Lady Kempstone asked with more than a little bit of unpleasantness to her voice.

"Because I scored an Outstanding on my NEWTs test," Umbridge said with almost a hint of pride.

"While all of this all this is interesting pieces of information ladies and gentlemen I think we need to focus on why we are here." Fudge said this as if he was trying to save his reputation. "Madam Umbridge why did you create the bill Lucius Malfoy presented today?"

Hermione could almost hear Umbridge growl at this question. "Because I don't believe Half-breeds like Madam Granger should be allowed in our society. Even if their mother is Magic Itself."

“Do you view people like Lady Grange as a threat, Madam Umbridge?” Dumbledore asked more than a little shocked.

"YES! People with enough power to create a magic-induced tornado should not be permitted into our society!" Umbridge screamed this at the top of her lungs. "I watched this little tart walk through a solid door, and all she could tell me was that it was an ABILITY she had! The little bitch then called out Malfoy's false lineage test. It shouldn't matter that we were trying to prevent this... thing from receiving something she rightly deserves from her father's side of her family!"

The silence that followed that made Hermione more than a little uncomfortable. It was like everyone in the room felt more than a little uncomfortable about what the woman had just said. Hermione could feel the area around her grow cold. She thought that she had put that event behind her, but just being reminded of it was more than enough to get her upset. She shook her head of these thoughts and forced the magic back into dormancy. Once this was done, the room returned to a more normal temperature. Even though this only took a couple of seconds given the atmosphere Hermione felt like it had been hours. Once the whispers died down it was Lady Kempstone that asked the next question.

“Umbridge it seems that you think Lady Granger is beneath us all. Why is that?” Hermione cast a glance to Lady Kempstone. The woman looked more than a little worried. It was like she thought that they would all be judged by what this woman said.

Once again there was about another five-minute fight with the potion before Umbridge said anything. "I have never viewed Half-humans as something worthy of our time. We should not allow them entrance into Hogwarts even though their parent is a human. In THIS case, it is worse cause her bloody father is a muggle. I KNOW her mother is magic itself, but just think of the danger a HALF-GIANT caused a scant two years ago now." Umbridge spoke with such certainty that Hermione though the woman was certain she would have some sympathizers amongst the Wizenagmot. "I know that this sounds bad, but think of it under the knowledge that EVERY demigod of legend has done something destructive. I only told Auror Yaxley who Lady Hecate was because I RESPECT a deity of magic, and I am learning I should have shown that respect to her daughter as well." Umbridge said this with more than a little bit of anger to her voice.

“How demigods a bad thing madam?” a man who appeared to be in his thirties sitting a few rows to her right asked.

"Take Hippolyta the Queen of the Amazons. Her people are a TRIBE of warrior women that view MEN as something beneath them. They would take all the men in this room and force them into servitude. How do we know that she won't do this to us?"

Hermione growled at this. "First of all, there is a big difference between an Amazon and a demigoddess. Were they demigoddesses themselves? Not really, I honestly don't know if they are the children of Aries and a nymph, but if they are/were the answer is no. They would be mortal women after one generation. The Divine Blood doesn't last beyond us. As for my brother what he did was wrong, and he has paid for it dearly." Hermione wanted to say more but stopped herself with her mouth hanging open for a couple of seconds. She closed it almost regretting not saying something.

“You wanted to add something half-breed.” Umbridge spat back with more than a little bit of fire to her voice.

'Go ahead, it's not like it will bite you in the arse that badly.' Hermione thought to herself. Though the voice was not 'her's' it was Hecate's as those words rolled around in her brain. Hermione shook herself of the shock of this event. She looked over to Hektor, and the man nodded. "Umbridge last year I was given a book about one of the greatest mysteries of this world. I know what he did, and how he was punished for it, so even though you think we are just going to walk all over this culture you are forgetting what will happen if we do." It looked like Umbridge was going to say something more, but regardless of her 'new' opinion, Hermione was not going to let her say a damn thing. "What is disturbing to me ma'am is that you seem awfully contradictory. You say one thing then contradict yourself within a few minutes. It's like your of two minds at the moment."

“That is a good point Lady Granger,” Minister Fudge said firmly. Hermione didn't know if that was out of fear or relief. “Auror Tonks could you check the validity of the potion.”

The female Auror walked up to Umbridge and cast a couple of spells on the woman. “She is still under the potion Minister Fudge.”

Madam Bones was the next person to ask a question before Fudge could say a word. It seems as if she was testing what Auror Tonks had said. “Have you broken the law in support of your beliefs that Lady Granger's mother has corrected?”

"Not directly. The only thing I have done is to prevent muggleborns and half-bloods from getting jobs in the Ministry when I could. I have a severe distrust for them, and this is only illegal in the muggle world. There is no law on our books preventing someone from not hiring a person based on their sex, race, or familial background. Most of those I turn away run off and get jobs in the muggle world anyway. So, it isn't like we are really losing anything important. Most of them still spend money in our world and associate with us. I do not see a problem with what I have done." Umbridge said this with such a tone of arrogance that Hermione thought she had finally broken the power of the potion. "All I have done is to prevent muggleborns and half-bloods from getting promoted within the fields within the ministry."

This was probably the worst thing she could have done. The noise the Wizenagmot made was almost defining. Even the purebloodist was making a rather load bunch of noise. If Hermione had a good guess a punch of them were enraged only because they 'had' to be. There might have been some that were truly upset because this woman compromised the integrity of the Ministry itself. Hermione couldn't even make a good guess at the flow of times it took to calm everyone down. If she wanted to guess it took thirty minutes to calm everyone down. Once everyone calmed down Hermione looked over at the Minister. He looked more shocked than outraged. Fudge had to be wondering how much trouble Umbridge could have gotten him in.

Hermione took this time to ask a question that was bothering her. "Miss Umbridge, have you always thought such things?"

Before Umbridge said a thing Charles whispered: “What are you thinking?”

Hermione replied with a smile. “She's already said enough to at bare minimum lose her job. I doubt she will get thrown in Azkaban, but I also doubt she will be able to keep the job she currently has. She might get pushed to another department of the ministry.”

"You have a point, but don't push it," Sirius said a little more worried now.

The sound of Umbridge's voice pulled them out of their conversation. “Yes, my father had a wife who had a squib for a child. The two of them ran off to make him feel more comfortable. How a witch can do this is beyond me.” The happy tone in her voice made Hermione wonder if Lady Hecate had LET her lie. “The fact that my father would leave my pure-blood mother for a whore is beyond me.”

“So, you let this betrayal sway your action in the Ministry?” a dark-skinned man asked in rather unsettling voice.

"Absolutely," Umbridge said with a hint of pride.

“Have you broken Major Laws while you've worked for the Ministry?” Madam Bones asked more than a little disturbed by what Umbridge had said.

"No," Umbridge said quickly.

“Is there anything that you've done in the past harmful to the Integrity of Ministry?” Fudge asked.

"Other than the denial of promotions and hirings no," Umbridge said more than a little irritated now.

"I think we are done now," Dumbledore said. The way he said it though made Hermione think he was unhappy. "Ladies and Gentlemen those of you who think Madam Umbridge should be removed from her position raise your wands now. All those who think she can continue as the Deputy Undersecretary raise your wands." Hermione watched people raise their wands. Granted the number was very small. She might have been able to count it on both hands and one foot. Hermione was shocked that most of the pure-blood members that were sitting next to the seat Malfoy used to occupy didn't even vote. She thought that those men would have shown her the same support they showed Malfoy, but in the end it seems their loyalty was not to the ideals, but to the man they had grown accustomed to supporting. "All of those who think she needs to be removed from office." Hermione and those around her lifted their wands. Hermione took the chance to look around the room. Everyone else in the room saved for about forty people had their wands lifted and lit. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." As everyone put their wand way Dumbledore looked down at Umbridge. "Ms Umbridge I think it is unneeded to be said, but you are unwelcome to in the Ministry from this point forward. What you have done is unbelievable."

"Well said, Albus." Minister Fudge said swiftly. "I had my faith that you were doing what was right by being so, as you put it, diligent on who you allowed to be promoted. Now that the truth is out I will be PERSONALLY going over who is promoted until your replaced by somebody more AGREEABLE to the Ministry's standards after the war with You-Know-Who. I cannot believe that you took advantage of my trust Umbridge. What I thought you were doing was making sure the right people got the promotions they needed, but instead what we received from you was bigotry and blindness. I don't think you will be finding yourself in a good position within the Ministry anymore. That is if you're able to find a job within the Ministry ever again. With that, I ask the Aurors to escort Ms Umbridge to out of the Ministry."

With that said the Wizenagmot was dismissed. Hermione looked once more to the man monitoring Pansy. He was watching her as she left with Lady Greengrass and Hektor. It seemed that the man was oblivious to the fact that he had been spotted by Hektor. Hermione looked over at Sirius and found the man tracking Flint's exit from the chamber. He looked back at Hermione and said: "I think we need to make quick rout to the hallway. Charles, get some Aurors cause I think we are going to need them."

"Right." Charles said as he made his way to the lower floor of the courtroom.

Hermione started moving as fast as the crowd would let her go towards the exit. Once she had a clear pathway Hermione took off running. She didn't care that there was witness to this. She had more pressing matters at hand then hiding her true nature from the public. Because of the woman that she just threw under the Knight Bus, the public knew about this, but the woman was basically asking for all of this by seeking these actions. The last time she did this Hogwarts seemed small, and the Ministry seemed tiny compared to Hogwarts. The sound of people talking around her was rather distracting. She had to double back once cause she took the wrong turn.

As she rounded the last corner she could hear someone call out Pansy's name. Pansy and the others were standing next to the elevators. The man was inching his way towards Pansy at that moment. Flint was staring down Hektor, but he then lifted his wand. Hermione was coming in between him and Pansy as he started to cast his spell. "Avada..." as the man rose his arm up Hermione got between him and Pansy and created a wall of ice with a flick of her wrist three feet thick. It was already four feet and a foot thick when he finished the spell. "...Kedavra!" The wooshing sound of magic came rushing towards her as a dozen other spells were fired at the caster. The sound of the spell hitting the solid block of ice filled the chamber. The explosion that followed was stifled by the ice. The steam that resulted from the collision filled the room. Hermione heard the bastard cry out as he the spells hit him. Hermione just hoped that no one was hurt by any shards of ice from the explosion. When the steam died down Hermione could see some people being picked up off the ground. They didn't appear to be hurt, but Hermione still felt bad about having to do this. 

Hermione wanted to go help, but hand grabbing her wrist stopped her. She turned to find Pansy staring at her with this look of shock and wonder. Before Hermione could say anything Pansy had her in a bone-crushing hug. She could hear the flash of a camera off to her left. She knew this would be in the  _Daily Prophet_ , but at this moment she didn't care about it. She was just so glad that she could stop the spell before it could touch anyone. She could hear Pansy whisper in her ear, but she didn't care about that. The sound of another voice did grab her attention after a while. 

"She could have killed someone with an act like that Madam Bones why are you complimenting her instead of arresting her!" It sounded like Jeffery Garrus was more than a little upset that she was not in changes right now.

Pansy spoke up before she could say a word. "Because you prick she saved a life today!" Pansy released her from the hug and started walking towards Garrus. "If it wasn't for her that spell would have hit the elevator and the explosion could have killed someone. Had it not been for her brother we wouldn't have scattered when we did. More than like I or Lady Greengrass could have died. If you think ANYONE is going to listen to you now after I told them how you treated me you truly are an idiot."

"The only reason anyone is listening to you is they found so-called proof!" Garrus said in a heated tone. "If you think..."

"Enough!" Pansy said forcefully. Hermione could see the bright green glow wrapping around Pansy's hand. This green light quickly turned into a vine, and with a flick of her wrist, the vine reached out and wrapped around her uncles head completely sealing his mouth and jawline. She let go of the vine and it continued to wrap around his throat. Once it was done the man reached up and tried to untangle his jaw. The moment his fingers touched the vine started to wrap around his arms. "Uncle you will find it rather hard to forcibly break free of this. If you hate Hermione because she is a half-blood who's a mother is Magic then your going to absolutely despise me."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" A female voice cried out. Looking to her right Hermione once again saw Pansy's aunt. The woman's long blonde hair flowed frantically as she ran to her husband's side. She grabbed hold of the vines and tried to pull them off her husband. When she did this through the vine started to wrap around her hands. "What kind of curse have you laid upon him!"

"It is a vegetation charm used for defence. The more you struggle the more dangerous the vine becomes. Before you ask it has a time limitation so it won't kill you." Pansy said all of this rather offhandedly. Her tone was calm, but this coy smile on her face made Hermione's blood run cold. Pansy turned back to Hermione. "I'll be waiting with Hektor and Lady Greengrass."

Hermione nodded and turned to the Aurors that had gathered around them. “Will you need me to inform you about what happened?”

“Yes, ma'am.” the tall dark skinned Auror said. “We will need everyone's statements though.”

"Of course sir," Hektor said with a slight smile. "I would also like to point out that I think this man," he pointed to Jeffery, "...has a restraining order against himself and Madam Parkinson."

“That's why other Aurors are here sir.” the man said with a wicked smile.

* * *

 

“That was rather cruel of you Pans.” Harry said rather flatly. “Don't get me wrong the man deserves a beat down, but don't you think you would have gotten in trouble for that?”

"Well, the bastard deserved it, to say the least. I was VERY lucky the Ministry viewed that as 'self-defence'. I could have been seriously fined."

"Ha, you are funny. After how much Hektor gave us I don't think we would have had a problem with it." The worry and concern she felt about the matter soon faded when the memory of what Hektor did shortly after that came into her mind and Pansy's reaction to it. Hermione said with a slight smile on her face. "I still can't believe YOU said he was giving us TOO much money."

“I was expecting a couple hundred thousand not a couple hundred MILLION!” Pansy said in a slightly agitated voice. “And his reasoning for 'hazard' pay still baffles me.”

"Given what 'we' did I can understand it, and the hazard pay is a muggle thing." Hermione said this as she looked over to the man Mr Weasley called Barty Crouch. She remembered him from the events that took place after Umbridge's trial, and because of them, she had no desire to talk around him. The man was looking at them right now bothered her. "I also think this conversation needs to go into a more private location." Hermione looked over at Pansy. The look on her face was one of pure hate as she looked at who Mr Weasley was talking to.

"I agree with you love." Pansy said swiftly. "Certain people that have gathered up here are not trustworthy in my opinion."

Hermione looked between Crouch and Pansy for a moment before nodding her head. "Then let's take this into the girls' tent." Hermione suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Harry said quickly. The four of them got up and walked into the girls' tent.

* * *

 

Magnus walked around the tent and looked at the 'Runic' Pattern drawn upon the ground. It may have been in Linear B, but by magical lore, this was still 'runic writing'. They had written out the spell out to perfection. They would be using the gathered ambient magic after the sporting event tonight to fully restore him to life. He was so proud of Maya had taken the time to construct this ritual over the last three thousand years. It is amazing what time allows one to do if you have an excessive amount of it. Voldemort had a fraction of this amount, and he'd been able to do some impressive things, but he was a fool for rejecting their offer at restoring his body. He had a valid reason for wanting to do things his way. The idea of being limited on what you could do because your greatest foe could kill you with just a touch was slightly unsettling.

Magnus turned his gaze from the runes to the work Maya was doing. His eyes lingered on her figure for a moment before moving to what her hands were doing. Voldemort only wished he could be as gifted at spell work as Maya. She had created the Cruciatus Curse and the Polyjuice Potion. Her travels in antiquity mad the later possible. He just wished she'd found him sooner than this. Being constricted to this frail mind was beyond annoying. Had Weasley taken the time to do some actual learning then he might have as sharp of a mind as he once had. As it stood the only 'knowledge' he could draw from the boy was things relating to quidditch and the scant few potions he was good at. He could do some of the spells he once wielded, but that knowledge was limited. This ritual was to correct that.

“What are you thinking about my love?” Maya asked.

"My limitations, and this boys failure. I have all this power, but I can't use it because of the boy's failures." Magnus said coldly. "It would have been nice if he gave into you sooner. Knowing of my return for three months while watching him stumble around pretending to be me was annoying."

Maya laughed. "Had it not been for his stupidity we wouldn't be here now. He would have forced to submit to you. Making him think he would 'get' Granger in exchange was an easy game to play."

Magnus shook his head. “The boy should have learned that just because he wants something he doesn't mean he will get it.” Magnus walked over and looked at the crystal volumetric flask. “So this plus the enchanted crystal net will capture and liquefy magic?”

Maya nodded. “Yes, that and the potion I've been working on for a year now in combination should restore you completely. My only regret is that I cannot turn you back into a demigod.”

Magnus chuckled and kissed her lightly on the head. “You needn't worry about that my love. Once this is done I will be closer to my former power than Ronald Weasley could bring me. The rest will come with time.” Magnus looked at the crystal 'net' that had been built using silk and red jade. “This is going to be an entertaining night.”

Maya chuckled as she looked up at him. "The quidditch game, or the after the party we plan on having?" Maya asked with this coy smile on her face.

“Both.”

* * *

 

Hermione and Pansy sat next to each other on the couch. Harry and Daphne sat next to them. Well, Harry sat next to them while Daphne sat in his lap. Ginny sat down in a chair across from them. The tension that had a belt between them seemed to grow more intense in moments like this. Hermione could see the pain in Ginny's eyes while she looked at Harry and Daphne. Hermione had long figured out that Ginny was one of the many girls who had fantasies about being the one that Harry had fallen for. Hermione did feel for her, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. Harry's heart went where it did, and that was a good thing really. Hermione didn't know if Ginny would have been able to keep Harry's irritations in check.

A tap on her shoulder pulled Hermione out of her thoughts. A look over at Pansy revealed a worried look on her face. “What's wrong love?” Hermione asked.

"Why did you look so worried out there?" Pansy asked as she wrapped an arm around her waist.

“I'm fine, I just no longer felt safe talking about this out there. It was the way Mr Crouch was looking at us. It was like he was expecting me to say that I was a dark witch and relished in bring Umbridge and Malfoy down.” Hermione said softly as she pressed herself into Pansy's left side.

Harry scoffed at this moment. "That's putting it mildly. The way Sirius talked about him yesterday the man is the worst thing in the world. He's the one who had Sirius just thrown in Azkaban for crimes he didn't do. Had your sister not take those memories to Madam Bones Sirius might still be on the run." Harry looked over at Daphne. "Your dad was also an awesome help for Sirius since then my dear, and for that, I will always be thankful." Harry kissed Daphne lightly on the lips. He looked once more at Hermione. "Okay, Hermione what happened when you two went with Dumbledore to Hogwarts?"

"Well, I think we need to set a timer on this one. It is getting awful close to the game and we need to buy a few things before we go to the game." Hermione said as she looked at the clock set beside one of the beds. She reached out with her left hand a summoned it to her hand. Once it was 2:30 PM. The game was supposed to start close to nightfall. She set a forty-minute alarm and set it on the table. "Okay, where do you want us to start?"

“We know about what happened after the trial, so why don't you just tell us what happened in Dumbledore's office?” Harry asked.

Hermione sighed. Dumbledore had told them to keep this information to themselves, but they had already told these three about their past lives. Granted not in detail, but this would not be news to them. Hermione sighed once she'd made up her mind. “Okay, but what we are going to tell you can't leave this tent.”

“Okay,” the other three said as one.

Pansy took over at this point. "There is something we need to tell you two before we get to what we showed your parents Daphne, Sirius, and Dumbledore.”

“Does it have anything to do with what you told them about Magnus?” Harry asked.

“Yes and no.” Hermione said as calmly as she could. She looked over t her raven haired friend. His green eyes were driving home the point they were trying to get across to them. “You two are amung the people my brother told us about. We didn't know this until Dumbledore and your parents recognized the two of you just at a glance. We don't know if we can prove it, but if we find out a way we will talk to you about it.”

Harry and Daphne looked to one another. There was this look of wonder on their faces. It took them a while to look back at Pansy. It was Daphne that broke the awkward silence. “Why don't you tell us what happened before we talk about this some more.”

Pansy nodded her head. “Right. Well, we were taken to Dumbledore's office..."

* * *

 

Hermione stepped out of the floo network into Dumbledore's office. She felt so excessively lucky right now. One of the men that had shown up at the scene had wanted her arrested as a Dark Witch because of the way she had treated Garrus. Unfortunately for Mr Crouch, there were too many witnesses that could prove she was just protecting her girlfriend, and that what had happened was magic being used in self-defence by Pansy. Garrus had actually found himself in custody once more for breaking the restraining order that he had against him regarding Pansy. At best the man would find sitting in Azkaban for a few months now. The fact that someone tried to kill Pansy not long before he showed up made it very unlikely that he would EVER see the light of day as a free man ever again.

The sound of a cabinet door being closed grabbed Hermione's attention. She looked around and found Dumbledore moving a large stone bowl with what looked like a dark liquid held within it. He set it down on the ground and gestured for everyone to stand around it. Hermione walked up and was standing next to Sirius. It was at this moment Hermione realised that there might be a chance that the people gathered around might not believe what she and Pansy were about to tell/show them. "Sir, while I know what we are going to... I'm guessing show you, but how will you know they are the truth?" 

At this moment Dumbledore chuckled. "Lady Granger this device will make it quite obvious that the memory you will show us is fake. I won't tell you how, but know this that if you DO provide a false memory we will not look too kindly on it." Dumbledore was giving her this knowing look. Hermione did feel relief at this moment.

"Thank you, professor, I can assure you the memories we provide you are not fake. It is just going to be hard to take without us," Hermione looked over at Pansy to get her feel on it. Pansy looked more than a little sad at this moment. "Pansy we don't have to show them that." Hermione took hold of Pansy's hand. "We just need to show them a good memory, the start of the fall, and the end of it all."

"Ms Parkinson if this has anything to do with your uncle..." Madam Bones said in a calm and caring voice.

"No, it doesn't," Pansy said with a smile on her face. "I don't think he could do what happened to the... person in the memory we are going to show you."

“How could you have someone else's memories?” Sirius asked. “I know Circe said you two were special, but I couldn't imagine you having that kind of power.”

Once again the two of them looked at one another. All Hermione could do was look at Pansy, and hope the girl thought the same thing she was. They could tell them completely what was going on or tell them to just trust in what they showed. It seemed that Pansy was wanting to tell them everything. Hermione just nodded over at Pansy. Pansy looked over at Sirius and said: "They are not someone else's memory in the sense your thinking Sirius. They are another person's memory, but they are the memories of OUR," Pansy gestured to herself and Hermione. "...past lives that are providing the memories."

“How are you even able to remember them if this is the case?” Asked Lady Greengrass in a shocked voice.

Hermione was the one who answered this question. “I have been having dreams about this life since I was about six. I don't know what caused it to surface, but I've always talked about the memories with my Mum and Dad. Before you ask I had no contact with my biological mother until I was almost thirteen-years-old.”

“So, how do you know these are your memories from a past life?” Charles asked.

Pansy chuckled at this for about ten seconds. "Well, I'd been having dreams about since I was seven, but it didn't really click as to what was until my beloved here," Pansy wrapped an arm around her waist, "...kissed me rather passionately on our first Hogsmead visit all the dreams I'd been having made sense. Like Hermione, I'd been having dreams about since I was seven-years-old. The only thing I can think of happening is that kissed sealed the bond our souls had made that long ago."

“How long?” Dumbledore asked now more interested, if that was possible, then he was before.

“About four-thousand years ago.” The two of them said as one.

Everyone else looked at one another for about a couple of minutes before Sirius asked. “Where was this?”

“It was in,” Hermione started but there was a part of her that didn't what to finish the sentence.

“...Atlantis.” Pansy finished with a sombre look on her face.

“YOUR KIDDING?!” Madam Bones, the Greengrass, and Sirius said as one.

"Sadly no." Pansy said in a sombre tone. "The two of us had semi-important jobs with the government itself. I mean mine was as important as these ones."

“Says the spy.” Hermione says with a coy smile on her face.

"Wait the two of you were actually had high-level jobs?" Sirius asked more sound more shocked than he looked.

Pansy just laughed at this point. Hermione found herself wanting to do the same, but her common sense made her not give in to this instinct. "Yes, Sirius we had jobs. It may have been over four thousand years ago, but in our culture women were free to do whatever job the wanted to do. We lived in a matriarchal culture. I also guess it was matrilineal, but don't think men weren't important."

“So, what did they do?” Charles asked. He sounded more than a little curious about this.

“Primarily they were the in the army, they also were business owners, clergy, and some were members of the government.” Pansy said with a smile on her face. “Both men and women competed in the same sports, and in some of them they competed against one another.”

“How long ago was are talking about? This civilization sounds unique, but I've never read about it.” Lady Granger said softly. Her voice had this sense of awe to it. Hermione thought if she just told her she would lose all interest.

Hermione thought of how she would answer this. She knew who the Pharaoh was so all she had to do was some quick maths in her head. She remembered the Pharaoh of the time Atlantis fell was Amenemhet VI. It was the second year of his reign, so that meant Atlantis fell 1786 BCE. "It fell in 1786 BCE. That is short for Before the Common Era which is something some muggle scientist use instead of Before Christ. That means the time period we are going to show you is roughly fifteen years before the fall, then about the mid-point of the fall period, and then right at the fall."

Hermione saw Dumbledore doing the maths in his head. “That means this took place three-thousand seven-hundred and ninety years ago. This can't be...”

“It is.” Pansy and Hermione said as one.

The others seem to be coming to their own conclusions. Madam Bones was the next one to say something. "Is this why your brother didn't want to come to see the memories?"

Pansy shook her head vigorously. "No, ma'am. He is responsible for what happened to it, and I think he doesn't want to be visibly reminded of what he caused to go 'missing'. The man originally taught me the skills I 'relearned' if you will last year."

“Is he dark?” Dumbledore asked no looking more concerned.

Hermione shook her head. “Not anymore. He was at one point in time, but what happened to his home, the people he was trying to protect, and himself showed him the error of his ways. Don't get me wrong Headmaster I will always be cautious if he tells me we need to attack someone. That is what lead to problems in the first place.”

“Wow, that is a harsh statement.” Madam Bones said. “Did he change his ways at all?”

Hermione thought back to what the book her Mum had given her said about Hektor. "After being repeatedly turned to stone for fifteen-hundred years I'd say so. The man has not tried to conquer the country since his release. He's been forced to fight for countries before, but he always fakes his death or runs far away for about sixty years. That isn't to say he won't defend a country, but that is the only time he will fight." Hermione looked between the device and Dumbledore. "So, how do we do this?"

Dumbledore looked between the two of them for a moment. "You take your wand and put it to your head and think of the memory you want us to see. You then pull your wand away from your head when the memory is at its end. You then place it in the memory in the Pensieve." He looked between the two of them once more. "I must warn you, ladies, that if the memory is false or altered we will know. Given what you two have said I doubt they will be flawed, but I can hardly think there is any way someone more dangerous than the two previous Dark Lords."

Hermione sighed at that statement. "Professor Dumbledore, Magnus is not more dangerous in the sense of magical power. He is more dangerous in what he can pull off politically. He brought a place I loved to its knees through words alone." Hermione steeled her resolve at the memory that was flowing through her mind. "Sir, I would never mislead you about this and trust me when I say that as a dark wizard Magnus should not be put in the category of 'can be talked down' because he can't be. We tried," Hermione pointed between herself and Pansy, "...and all we got for it was pain and suffering. My previous life ended in a fight with him that he initiated. I didn't want it but given that I had no other choice but to fight to the death. It was no different than you when you fought Grindwald. You might not have wanted to fight, but you knew you had to in order to save everyone else."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to say something else, but Madam Bones cut him off. "Albus I think we need to see what these girls are talking about before we start passing judgement on this viewpoint."

"I agree on this Albus," Sirius said looking more than a little concerned. "Is this why Circe keeps telling me you two need time to process thing?"

Hermione thought long and hard on this. “I would say so, given what our past lives went through, and what we know about the 'fall' of society it is hard for us to not worry about was going on. I don't like some of the laws on the books of the Magical UK, but I cannot change them overnight so I must weigh how things must be worded and done. There is a phrase in the muggle world that I know all to well in retrospect.”

“And what is that?” Dumbledore asked sounding more than a little worried.

"The only thing for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," Hermione said calmly.

“Is that aimed at anyone Hermione?” Charles asked.

"No, that is a statement from many different sources in the muggle world, but it rings true no matter where you go. It was never directed at anyone in particular. It does, however, point a finger at people who should stand up and say/do something in adverse of evil. If we don't tell you this," Hermione pointed to herself and Pansy, "...then there is no difference between us and those who KNEW about Death Eater activity and did nothing. I don't know if anyone in this room did that, but I know some of the old Wizengmot did that."

“Like Barty, the man had to know that his son was hanging around some unsavoury types, but he did nothing to address it until it was too late.”

Hermione nodded with a sour look on her face. “Yes, men like that are only looking out to prop themselves up as heroes while ignoring the bigger problems that are happening around them.”

"Lady Granger I think you are misreading Crouch's actions," Dumbledore said softly. "The man has his flaws we all do, but they do not give us the right to drag him through the mud." Dumbledore looked around the room. "We could discuss this all day, but I think Amelia is right we need to see these memories first. Know which one of you will supply the first memory?"

"I think it should be you, Hermione," Pansy said with a smile on her face. "I'll handle the middle portion, and you need to handle the... final fight."

“Why?” Dumbledore asked.

“Because my memory of the final fight would be rather narrow, and you'll see why when we get there.” Pansy said with a little bit sombre of a tone to her voice.

"Alright, then Lady Granger whenever you're ready." Dumbledore said with a slight smile.

Hermione thought about what memory she should use. She didn't want to use the first or second time the met. Perhaps the first actual date they had back then would do. There was a part of her that wanted to censor the why Atlantean women dressed, but she knew if she did this she thought it might alter the way the memory showed. Hermione just concentrated on the memory as it was. She focused on the area of the 'place' that the date was to take place. Hermione was honestly shocked at how clear the memory became as she held her wand to head. When the memory was at its end Hermione pulled her wand away from her head. She found a silver string leading down to a large raindrop sized bit of silver. She was told to place the drop in the Pensieve. Once this was done she looked around the room.

“There is something I should say before we go into this memory.” Hermione looked over at Pans to find her girlfriend stifling back a laugh. It was like she _knew_ what Hermione was going to say. “While Pansy and I are used to the things in this memory you will not be.”

“Are thing in this memory going to be dark?” Madam Greengrass asked.

“No,” Pans said quickly. “It's just that the way we dressed back then was both oddly modern, and rather brash if you will.”

“Brash how?” Dumbledore asked sounding more and more worried by the second.

“Well women didn't mind having their chest exposed, and I am not just saying that to sound abrasive. The muggles found one of the few bits of our empire that remand back at the turn of the century. The women of this society ran things, and the way we dressed reflected that.”

“So, throw away everything we know about a civilized society?” Charles asked.

“Yes.” Hermione and Pansy said as one.

"Alright then, thank you for the warning Ladies. Now if you don't mind to drop the memory in the Pensieve Lady Granger. After that, we need to lower our heads into the Pensieve."

Hermione nodded before dropping the memory into the basin. Not long after that everyone lowered their heads into the basin.

* * *

 

Dumbledore always felt odd spiralling down into memory. This may not have been the first time he'd done this, but given what Lady Granger had told them Albus had his suspicion about where they would be for this first memory. Once inside the memory, he was amazed at what he saw. He was standing in a busy city street that had paved limestone roads, what looked to be an intricate waterway throughout the roadway, and ancient stone building that went three stories high. The sides of the building glittered like they were made of pure silver. Some of the building had beautiful red, dark brown, or black paintings on the sides. The pillars that held up the buildings were always painted red with black decoration at the top. The doorways to the build were always wide open on the ground level. Some of the upper-level doors were closed, but why this was confusing, Albus. Would have all the doors being open have been more beneficial on a hot day? When he turned to talk to Hermione he was made quite aware of what Hermione had mentioned to them earlier. This street was a very busy street. Dozens of people were walking up and down the street as if there wasn't a care in the world. The women on the street either had a bodice covering their chest or had their chest completely exposed. If you were from the modern age you would think that the women with exposed breast would be the minority, but here that wasn't the case. It was almost like a woman's chest was a status symbol. Their dresses, or skirts, that accompanied this were quite intricate.

"Well, you weren't kidding Hermione." Sirius said in a small chuckle. "I think if a younger lad were to see  _this_ today he'd lose his mind." 

"Agreed," Charles said with a slight chuckle. "So, aside from this anything else, we should know?" Charles asked as he watched his wife walk down to the canal.

"Well, this place is on the island of Sardinia. The volcano in the background there destroyed it." Hermione points off past the two-story place to a mountain in the background. "The last eruption pushed to coastline miles away from this location, and buried this location under miles of the earth after it sank into the sea."

It was at this point Lady Greengrass looked down the canal. Before Albus could ask what she saw she screamed. “THIS IS ATLANTIS?!”

Albus stood there blinking for a few moments. He knew the teachers Lady Hecate had brought were SUPPOSEDLY descendants of survivors of this place, but he NEVER thought that Lady Granger and Lady Parkinson were originally from here. What role did these two play in the story written by Plato? Albus walked down to the canal and looked down it like Abigail Greengrass was doing. Albus looked down the canal and was stunned into to silence at what he saw. The canal went down to the centre of the city, and it was encircled twice by canals that connected to the sea or ocean. Where the heroines or villains on a path of redemption. Once he looked back at Granger and Parkinson he found his voice. "What role did you play in all of this?"

Parkinson chuckled at this question. “Not a bad one for that one over there.” She pointed to Granger. “She was a... senator basically. She was the representative for the city in the imperial council. I was a spy, and informed the 'queen' of any threats we may have had.” She said the word queen like it just didn't fit the description of this society.

"So, is there anything, in particular, you wanted to show with this memory?" Albus asked as he watched a pair of a young woman walk down the road hand in hand. Not far from them was an older couple of men doing the same. There were pairs of men and women doing the same around him.

"Yes," Lady Granger said with a smile. "This would be the first date for the two of us in both of our lifetimes. The reason I chose this you will see the man we are warning you about as well. I gave about a twenty-minute leeway so we could have this conversation. I just focused on this area, and being I saw lots of people walking towards the location or from it would explain the amount of traffic we are seeing."

“So your mind just plugged in how they got here, or how they left?” Sirius asked.

"Probably, but it could also be the hand of Fate filling in the blanks." Pans said softly. "It could also be a good guess of a great mind. I should be coming in for the area near you two right now." Pansy pointed down the road Sirius and Charles were standing infront of. "Keep your eyes open for a woman in a blue 'dress' coming from that way with her hair in a bun and held together in a long tail in the back. The hair will be held together purple wrap trimmed in dark blue."

“What are you talking about?” Charles asked.

“I think I see her. Look to your left and three people back. She running straight this way.” Sirius said with a smile. “It seems you use the sides of your top to cover your chest.”

"Yep, I was trying to be mysterious," Pansy said with a smile.

"Thousands of years ago that was you being mysterious," Sirius asked more shocked than intrigued.

"Yes, in this culture women ran the government, men defended it, and priestesses had more political power than the queen herself." Pansy said calmly as she walked up to look at herself as she came to a stop in the middle of the road. The young woman was panting a little pit look left to right. "I knew it's was tied a bit too loose. Shite I must have looked the fool to you."

"You were just fine Pans. The fact that I couldn't see your chest attracted me more than your slightly loose skit would have ever distracted me. If anything I think if I'd noticed that I would take that as an open invitation." Hermione said with a smile.

Pansy swatted her on the shoulder. “Prat.”

"I should be coming this way dressed like this except the skirt is going to have a 'rainbow' pattern to it. It is going from purple to red, to a dark blue. Keep in mind the dye that made purple was produced in this empire so it was remarkably cheap for us." Hermione said with a smile. "The idea of royal purple confused us bake thin, but it made us money, so no complaints."

"Oh my." Abigail said as she looked down the street. Albus turned to look down the road Abigail was looking down. Walking towards them was a woman who was unmistakably Hermione Granger's past life. She may have been taller than Hermione at approximately five-foot-six-inches tall. She had a somewhat athletic almost model-like build. Her face was unmistakably Lady Granger's however. How or even why this happened was beyond him. You could say that it was a miracle of genetics, but that would be a little far fetched. Albus walked up to her to study her a little more closely. The young woman's nose was a touch smaller than Hermione's. Her face was a little more 'pointy' in the chin area. Aside from these few things this was unmistakably Hermione. The woman's eyes were a shade dark in town in colour as well. "If this is your first date Lady Granger I'd hate to see your more suggestive ones." Abigail said with a slight smile on her face.

“I was a bit more... modest at that point.” Lady Granger said with a slight blush to her face.

“I can only imagine why.” Sirius said with a smile.

All conversation was brought to an end when the two of them stood next to one another. Lady Parkinson's former life was there almost awestruck at what lay before her eyes. The same could be said about Lady Granger's although it seemed she could hide it just a little bit better. It was when they spoke that Albus was amazed at what was going one.

“ _You look amazing Leto.”_ Hermione's past life said with a smile on her face. _"I hope you didn't have anything important planned for the day."_

“ _No, I didn't Hecate.”_ Leto said with a smile on her face.

“ _So, are you ready to go see the bull leaping?”_ Hecate said with a smile.

“ _Not yet. I was thinking we could go get some food before we did that.”_ Leto said with a coy smile.

“ _That sounds wonderful.”_ Hecate said with a smile.

The two women started walking down the street towards the canal. Once there they made their way to the building at the centre of the canal. Hermione and Pansy started walking down that pathway as well. Everyone else looked at one another for a moment the started to follow them. Looking around as they walked Albus started to notice it wasn't the two young ladies he was able to understand, but everyone that was standing around them as well. Though how any of this was possible Albus did not know. This language was beyond dead to the world. There were some bits that sounded Latin, but that was just a few words. They were in the wrong place to be the words he was thinking of, and the other Greek words were too ancient to be the ones he knew. It was Sirius that brought this question to their attention.

"So I am not doubting where we are, but how are we able to understand this VERY dead language?" Sirius as he walked up beside the two of them.

It was Lady Granger that answered him. "Well, I think this is because Pansy and I know this language. Whether it is a gift from the Fates or a side effect based on the fact that all the parts of our past lives becoming aware to us I don't know. All I do know is that I can speak in the language now as fluently as I did during the time you are seeing now." Lady Granger then wrapped her arm around Lady Parkinson's waist. "So is there anything else you want to know?"

"Was this common way of... courting someone in this culture?" Abigail asked.

"Yes," Pansy said with a smile. "It was rather common to see a couple walking around like this. From a young age, you were taught to look a woman in the eyes. That being said it wasn't uncommon to see young men or women lost in a daze when someone they were interested in walked by dressing like Hermione's past-self is dressed right now. It would be in poor taste to just star at her chest mind, but if I remember correctly I took ever small glance I could get."

Charles chuckled at this. "Well, that's good to know." Abigail swatted him on the shoulder. "I was just stating that at least some things haven't changed about a young couple."

“And had this still been the custom I think there would be more upfront young men these days.” Abigail said with a slightly sour look on her face. “So, why are you showing us this memory may I ask?”

Parkinson answered this one. “It is because this is the first time Magnus showed his true colours.” She looked over her should at Albus. “So you know, this is the 'Dark Lord' we are warning you about. He is not really a 'Dark Lord' as you know them, but it would surprise me if you called him one.”

"Why is that Lady Parkinson?" Albus asked as they made their way into a portion of the 'palace' that was better called a bar. There were men and women serving wine. A couple of men and women were cooking off in a back portion of the area using magic. There a dozen people seated at wooden tables scattered around. Off in the distance, Albus could hear the sound of something rather large wondering around in the pathway to his left. He turned to look down that pathway, and what he saw took his breath away. It was a bull that was standing as tall as he was. It was about two to three feet wide. He watched the thing walk right through the bar/cafe, and this didn't bother anyone. The parted way for the beast, and it just danced around the tables. "The second question: was this normal?"

Hermione chuckled and nodded her head. "Yes, this was quite normal, and Ronald's past life would not be considered a 'Dark Lord' because he was not in charge of anything major. That and he didn't practice magic that would be considered dark today. He used really grey magic and committed most of his crimes using muggle weapons and techniques. Sure he had his followers, but he had to 'cull' that group as it worries because of the actions of a few of them. He may have been a bastard, but he was a magnificent one. There was one crime he would not commit."

The way she said this made Dumbledore feel more than a little uncomfortable. “What do you mean?”

It was Lady Parkinson that answered this one. "Some of his followers enjoyed raping people. I know this cause I was a victim. Not to mention that his beloved Maya had been the inventor of Polyjuice Potion. They would use it to trick a victim into following them into a secluded part of the city, or off into the countryside. For me, it was both. They would use the potion on their victims multiple times just to break them."

"Oh my," Abigail said in a shallow voice. "You remember this event?"

“Yes, sadly.” Lady Parkinson said as she inched herself closer to Lady Granger. “The only good thing that came from it was my son. I never once blamed him for what they did to me. I just hope he survived the ordeal that befell Atlantis.”

The sound of Lady Granger's former life laughing broke this sombre conversation.  _“Your kidding right?”_

“ _Not even close to it.”_ the young woman said in a jovial voice. _"Magnus told me that I was making a mistake. That you were his, and that I was wasting my time. Had it not been for that night I would have never known about you."_

The brunette rolled her eyes.  _“No matter how many times I tell him the man won't take no for answer. I've even told him he's not the right gender for me to like.”_

“ _So, he's a typical boy?”_ the raven-haired young lady said with a smile. 

“ _Even young boys KNOW what the word no means. He's more like a toddler. The only good thing he has going for him is he doesn't cry when his loins are dampened.”_ the brunette said in an angry voice, but there was this smile on her face. _“One would think after being told twenty times in one week a person would take a hint.”_

The raven-haired woman laughed.  _"My brother demigod or no does have a problem with rejection. You should have been there when my mum told him he couldn't have a sweet. It was both frightening at times and funny at others."_

“ _I can imagine,”_ the brunette said as she took a sip of her wine. _“One might think he had an incestuous concept given that I am named after his mother.”_

Leto laughed at this.  _“If you didn't look so different from his mother I would agree with you.”_ The young woman thanked the woman who brought them their food. She then took the knife that was at her side, and cut into the meant. She poked it with the tip of the knife then ate it. After swallowing the meat she continued the conversation.  _“I mean the way he follows you around when he isn't doing something for the army is rather unsettling if you ask me. I've been running around town doing things for Hektor, and I've caught him following you.”_

“ _This is after last night or before?”_ the brown-eyed woman said with a broad smile. 

_"Before last week actually. I should have remembered you from it to keep myself from confusing you for a spy. That was rather unpleasant to discover. This city is SO big that there is no way you could know everyone within it. Magnus loves to think that he does, but I doubt that. The only reason he is as connected as he is comes from his relation to Hektor. I still can't believe that the aged man took Magnus' want to learn as a good thing. The fool thinks he could learn all there is to know in the world."_

The mortal Hecate nodded her head.  _“I may love to learn things, but even I know there is no way for a person to learn all there is to know in the world. That is impossible. Even the gods have their specialises. One does not find Poseidon saying he knows everything about the sky do we?”_

The young Leto shook her head as she drank more wine.  _“No, but Magnus wants to become like Thoth and know everything. If you ask me that would make life boring.”_ She then took another bite of meat and then grabbed a piece of bread. She pointed at Hecate with the piece of bread.  _“I think he is the one who gave me that information hoping I would tell him everything I found out about you.”_

Hermione and her past life blanched at this information.  _“I don't even want to know what kind of information you were sent to gather now.”_

_"Nothing special. I was asked to retrieve all outgoing messages you were sending. Had you not walked into that room when you did you would be wondering where your letters had gone. Seeing you in that state of undress distracted me enough to allow you to pin me to the wall."_ Leto was blushing at this.  _"I mean it was not like I hadn't seen other women like that, but seeing you like that grabbed more than my eyes at that moment."_

“ _Are you saying you love her sister dear?”_ an angered voice filled the air at this moment. 

Albus turned to his left to find a man about four years older than Harry standing in the second entryway into this place. What was really bad was that he looked like Ronald Weasley. The only difference was in his eyes. Instead of Ronald's light blue eyes, he had these dark grey coloured eyes. He also stood about a couple inches shorter than the size Ronald was speculated to be in the future. The look on the young man's face was one pure hate. "Who is this?"

“Magnus.” Hermione and Pansy said as one. The amount of hate in their voices was beyond anything he'd seen in some other than Tom.

“Ladies is there something I should know about him?” Albus turned his gaze and attention back to the older versions of the young women to find them staring at Magnus with the same level of hate their younger versions were displaying right now.

"Take all that is bad about You-Know-Who and strip away the blood hatred replace it with a national superiority. This will give you Magnus. This kind of hatred slowly turned into a male chauvinist that got him a small following of men who wanted to turn the Atlantean society into something closer to the cultures in the Middle East that we were trade partners with." Pansy said more than a little bitter than Albus thought she held these days. "The bastard would later cause him to have a plot to overthrow the Atlantean government after the war with Athens. This was exposed by the two of us." Parkinson pointed to herself and Granger.

“ _What are you doing Magnus?!”_ another male voice screamed.

Turning towards that voice Albus' breath was caught in his throat. Standing behind Magnus was a man who stood about a foot taller than him. He was wearing the kilt that everyone else was wearing. His muscles were not that well defined, but you could tell that he took care of himself. That is not what shocked him. What shocked him was this man's look was very, very, very close to Harry Potter's look. His nose was slightly different, his eyebrows were thicker, but all that aside this man looked like Harry. His eyes were the same shade of green, his harry was dark black, and jawline was without a doubt Harry's. Albus looked at the others in the group, and he found them staring at somewhere else. Albus followed their line of sight, and his breath was yet again taken away out of shock. Walking towards the growing group was a young woman who was unmistakably Daphne Greengrass. The only thing that was different was the woman had a darker shade of grey eyes.

“ _Is everything okay Leto?”_ the woman who looked like young lady Greengrass asked.

“ _Not really, we were having a nice date, but then it was interrupted.”_ Hecate said with more than a little bit of venom in her voice. _“I've told you before Magnus: We may have been friends since we were children, but that does not mean we are going to fall in love with one another.”_

_"Yes, my friend, but I don't think this is normal for you or my sister. This is all new to us all. Neither of you has shown an interest in your own sex before yesterday. I'm just wondering why my little sister or my CLOSEST friend didn't talk to me about this."_ There was almost an aggressive tone to Magnus' voice. Albus was wondering what this man was intending right now. 

“ _I didn't need to tell you that I was having an interest in someone. You ARE NOT my mother!”_ Leto screamed.

“ _I think it best for you to leave Magnus...”_ the young woman who looked like Daphne said as she stepped infront of him.

Magnus looked around the room, and when he noticed there was a group of people gathered around them that looked ready to get involved should he try to hurt either of these young ladies. He looked back at Hecate and said:  _“I still think you two have been bewitched, and should I ever find out how it was done I will save the two of you.”_

It was at this moment that the memory started over. Albus looked around at everyone standing around him. “I think we need to leave, and discuss what we have seen here.”

“Agreed there are some questions I want to ask these two.” Sirius said as he pointed at Granger and Parkinson.

“Yes, I think they may have known something they didn't even think about at all.” Charles said as he looked over at Hermione. “I am stunned by this Hermione. I don't think you were thinking of this while looking at those memories, but do you realise how much that young woman looks like Daphne.”

“Or how much that young man looks like Harry?” Sirius asked sounding more than a little bit stunned.

One look at the two young ladies should stunned looks on bothering their faces. It was Pansy that responded. "No sir, to be honest, we've been so focused on who we were that we didn't notice it. I know I didn't, and Hermione is Harry's best friend, so had she noticed it I think she would have told him by now. Hell, Daphne is becoming my closest friend, second only to Hermione, so I would have mentioned this to her."

"That's what I thought," Abigail said sounding a little worried. "What was her former life's job?"

Hermione smiled at this for some reason. "She was a mediwitch, and the same could be said about Harry. The two of them were a year old than me, but I'd known them well because of learning alongside them a little bit of the craft. In my past life, I didn't really take a specialization. I learned a touch of each bit of magic. I was more focused on the politics of the Atlantean empire then being a specialized mage."

"Wow," Sirius said with a smile. "So, do the two of them know about this?"

Granger and Parkinson looked at one another. They then shook their heads. "No, I mean they might have an idea, but they've never talked about it. We will talk to them about it though. Now that I KNOW about this I don't think I can keep this is away from my friends though sir."

“Lady Granger I don't think this is a wise idea.” Albus said calmly he didn't want this knowledge to cloud Harry's future needs.

Lady Granger looked to the ground squinting almost as if she was in deep thought about this matter. He knew it might thinking back to the life they came from to see how their former life. When she looked back at him her eyes were this bright grey. “Albus I don't think this wise.” Her voice was a touch higher in tone. It was almost like her past life was speaking to him. “Given what those two helped us with they may have come back to do the same. Or, they chose to come back to help us. We cannot say for sure.”

“Are you Lady Granger, or her past life?” Lady Greengrass asked.

“Hecate, this is something Hermione discovered she could do before the trial of Malfoy. We had to us what felt like thirty minutes. This is something I don't think any of you if you had a past life could do. Then again this could also be because Magnus or Maya have done something to Ronald soul to bring back Magnus has had some kind side effect on our souls. The former sounding so unlikely that it is almost comical to me.”

Albus stood there a little slack-jawed at this moment. It was Sirius that spoke next. "Do you think there is a way we could talk to you in the memories?"

“No,” it was no longer Hecate speaking to them. Lady Granger looked visibly tired from it. “I don't think I can do this often. I thought I could let her talk through me so long as the identity was strongly present.”

“Have you done this before?” Albus asked a little shocked.

"Yes, it just happened before the trail of Malfoy. It was a strong event that I can say. I also was able to receive information from her. Granted what I reviewed from her was a recipe, and it really isn't that useful for me."

“Yeah, but Harry would do wonders with it.” Pansy said with a smile.

Albus looked over at her with this shocked look on his face. “How did you do this?”

Lady Parkinson blushed slightly at this. "I know you saw my past life, but you don't know what she did for a living." She looked over at Lady Granger. The two of them nodded to one another. When she looked back over at Albus there was the smokey cloud falling away from her body. This coy smile graced her face. "This is what made it a doable thing. I can travel through the shadows around us as you walk through the air." Albus could feel his face took on this worried look. "Don't worry Professor this is not a dark art. It can be used for evil things, and feelings like hate, malice, or cruelty. You've met the man who discovered it."

“Hermione's brother?” Charles asked.

"Yes, and he discovered it in a moment of fear. According to him, he was looking for a way to get away from a group of soldiers that wanted to kill him." Pansy said a little tentatively. "He told me that in a panic he stepped back while thinking of escaping somewhere, and he 'fell' into the realm of shadows. I honestly think there was more involved, but he hasn't told anyone the full story."

“So, the Japanese discovered this independent of him?” Sirius asked.

“Yes,” both Granger and Parkinson said as one.

“Wow,” Abigail sounded more stunned than her anyone else about this. “So, what are you going to show us next?”

"Well, I think an Atlantean trial is next. You need to see Magnus' political manoeuvring, so you're not blind to them." Pansy said with a sour look on her face. "Hecate, Hermione's past life, was asked to stay out of the trial because she was my wife."

“That happened two days later love.” Hermione said with a smile on her face. It was like just thinking about the event made her exceedingly happy. The look on face fade with time. She looked over at Parkinson and took hold of her hand gently. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Pansy nodded. “It has been a while since that memory was forced back on me, but it happened over three-thousand years ago, and thankfully I don't have that experience in this life.” She then looked over at Albus. “So, how do this again?”

* * *

 

The ringing of the alarm clock grabbed everyone's attention. Hermione reached over and stopped the clock. Once the alarm was shut off she looked over at the most important of her friends at this moment. Harry and Daphne were sitting there slack-jawed. Hermione looked over at Ginny to find her more than a little curious about all of this. "I know what Daphne and Harry are thinking about, but what are you thinking about Ginny?"

“I am just wondering if everyone has had a past life.” Ginny said with a slight smile gracing her face.

“Probably, but we will never know. It is just amazing that we know about the ones we do.” Pansy said with a tenuous smile. “I mean the two of us have been having dreams about ours for years now.”

Daphne looked over at the raven-haired boy with a concerned look on her face. "How long have you been having them, Harry?"

Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "Yesterday is the only time I've dreamed about that life at all. When I try and bring that dream back to my mind there's like this black fog blocking that 'memory' from me. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't feel good that is for sure."

Daphne nodded slowly after Harry said this. "Barring the black fog I am the same as you Harry. Don't get me wrong it was still hard to recall, but nothing like a black fog was blocking it. I also didn't know any of it was real. I also compared myself to the woman in my dream. If this is my bast life then my former life was a bloody model by today's standards."

"You can say that again," Harry said with a smile.

“Oi!” Hermione, Pansy, and Daphne said as one.

"What I'm being honest. Besides if I said the opposite you call me out on it. I am losing either way." Harry took hold of Daphne's hand. "You know I love you for more than just your looks love."

Daphne swatted his hand. "Yes, but that does not mean you are going to get away with that statement." This coy smile graced her face. "If you want to prove that statement you'll have to get me a few things while we go out and shop for the World Cup.

"Fine," Harry said as he stood up, and pulled her to her feet. He held her hand and walked towards the door. "Come on, we don't have much time."

 


End file.
